


Kings of Destiny ~ Queens of Fate

by alltariss



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-07
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-18 11:47:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 34,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1427353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltariss/pseuds/alltariss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was never meant to be easy. I had to be the most cruel, the most effective killer, but above all, I had to be the best. Naruto desired the right to exist and if that meant selling my soul to the Devil himself. So be it...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue ~ A Whole New World

**AN: Note – Alltariss –** Welcome to the new rewritten version of Kings of Destiny Queens of Fate! I hope that you will find this new and improved version to be far more entertaining. But before you continue please read this Author Note as it contains a lot of information that is needed to fully enjoy this fic.

The first is that there will be a lot of differences that set this fic apart from established canon. I have read through quite a few books to gather a lot of research so that I can flesh out the world in a manner that is far more lifelike and convincing.

I have created an entire log of history dating back to the ancient times of Japan in order to recreate the Narutoverse in a way that is more realistic and detailed. This does not only include various clans that have historical importance, but also entire nations that are separate from the continent that the Narutoverse takes place on for the majority of the manga/anime.

The history of Naruto’s homeland and the history of the other continents/nations will be explained in further detail as the story progresses.

I have always found that there were a lot of loopholes in the manga that were ignored due to suspension of disbelief. Such as the level of technology in the Narutoverse, this is hard for me to ignore as I have always wondered about such things. They talk about electricity, radios, computers, they even reference atoms and molecules when talking about Rasen-Shuriken, and yet they lack higher levels of weaponry such as guns or bombs? One of the Paths of Pein fired missiles from his arm for Kami’s sake!

Therefore this fic will be an Alternate Universe as it will have substantial changes that are done to make sure that things at least try to make sense.

**VERY IMPORTANT!!!**

This fic will have moments that are graphic and contain scenes that may be filled with heavy violence, gore, and/or acts that are very depraved. This is how I envisioned what the Naruto manga would be like if instead of being made for Shonen Jump (which is designed for 14 to 16 or 18 years of age) it was instead made for adults and is a hell of a lot darker.

Also take note that in some places in the story I will place translations within parenthesises right next to the Japanese Romaji (Romanisation). Also I have placed asterisks alongside certain words*, which is to notify to the reader that an explanation for it will be provided.

I will have an Author’s Note at the bottom of each chapter which will have a Glossary for Japanese words, and also explanations for a variety of things such as Japanese culture and certain ideas/concepts that I have used, that I’m willing to elaborate on to give the reader a greater and more in-depth understanding of the Narutoverse I’ve created.

Now that all of that is done, please continue and enjoy reading!

* * *

 

**Prologue**

**A Whole New World**

 

* * *

 

The chamber was dim and dank, certainly not the best place for a woman to bring new life into the world. Nevertheless it was a great necessity, as it was far from the village and if the worst should come to pass, the damage could be minimalized. The formal looking structure was originally an outpost that was used during the wars, but now was abandoned for years.

A young man ran his hand over a section of the wall, feeling the irregular and coarse stones used to build the outpost. The use of natural stones in lieu of more modern tiles suggested the cavern’s age and added to the natural feel of the chamber.

“Minato-kun, how are the preparations?” Sarutobi asked, taking a long draw from his pipe.

Minato grimaced at the question. The aged ninja observed the young man’s grim expression with a sense of dread. There was a lot that was riding on the shoulders of the Yondaime Hokage (Fourth Hokage).

“The room is unclean and I hate that it has to be done here instead of a proper facility, but even I understand that we can’t take such a risk.” Minato’s eyes scanned the stone walls carefully, darting all over the place.

He had placed a number of barrier seals with fully charged containment features. Yet, even with all the secrecy and security he could not shake off the feeling of unease.

Sarutobi could see the anxiety in his successor’s face; it also seemed to cling to his body. If they were there on the battlefield, Sarutobi would have chastised the man for showing a lack of emotional control. Yet, the aged shinobi sympathised with the young man.

Here was a man whose wife was going to give birth to his first child. Sarutobi thought back to the birth of his first child, and the sheer terror that gripped him when Biwako went into labour. All those years on the battlefield didn’t prepare him for what he had felt, but somehow he had waited it out.

“Relax Minato,” Sarutobi said, clapping him on the back. “Everything will be fine, especially with Biwako assisting her.”

He was glad to see the tension in the man’s body leave, and instead find itself replaced with firm confidence.

Minato smiled. “Thank you Sarutobi-sama, for all the help and advice you’ve given me. I fear I may have been a nervous wreck without you.”

The old man laughed, his voice reverberating off the cavern walls. “I’d be worried if you were actually calm, and to be honest the feeling never gets easier no matter how many kids you have.”

Minato gave a small grin. “Was it like this when you had Asuma and Akio?”

Sarutobi nodded. “Oh yes, I was a total mess! I was freaking out in the hall hearing Biwako scream, and shout. And to make matters worse Danzō was right next me laughing his ass off.”

He took another drag of his pipe and blew out a plume of smoke. “But when it’s all over and you hold your child for the first time in your arms… It’s _indescribable_.”

Minato observed the old leader for a moment, taking in his features. Robust and slightly square-built the former Hokage looked to be in good shape. It was a testament to a man who lived through three wars, and survived to see retirement due to age rather than battlefield wounds. Sharp-featured and clean-shaven with the exception of a goatee, Minato regarded the man with a sense of wonder. He had no drooping flesh, but was wrinkled and his cheeks held a few liver spots.

“Hiruzen, Minato, the emergency medical equipment is ready.”

The two men turned around and were met with an elderly woman. She wiped her hands on an apron of sorts that overlayed a plain beige blouse. The only reason Minato knew she was elder to him and was closer to Sarutobi’s age was due to the gathering of wrinkles at the edge of her eyes. Otherwise her clean-cut face still held some semblance of youth and attractiveness.

Sarutobi immediately moved and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. It was rare to see the old man show such affection in public. Minato felt that he was seeing an entirely different man; he had always envisioned Sarutobi as the epitome of a battle-hardened shinobi. Yet, before him for a split second were a loving husband and father.

“A good start, but don’t think you’re out of the dog-house just yet, you scoundrel.” She scolded with her hands on hips and eyebrow raised.

Sarutobi gave a shaky laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

_I knew forgetting our anniversary was a stupid mistake_

Minato bit his lip in an attempt to hold back any laughter and grinned widely, shoulders shaking with mirth. He was greatly amused at the predicament the old Hokage found himself in. It wasn’t everyday you’d see the man be so thoroughly cowed.

“Good to see you Biwako-sama, how is Kushina?” Minato asked, quickly curtailing his instinct to laugh.

Biwako turned to Minato and gave a short nod. “Kushina is fine. I’ll be escorting her here with a medical aid.”

She turned to her husband, her visage serious. “Danzō-kun and Ishikawa-sama are waiting for you at the office, best not to keep them waiting.”

Sarutobi straightened and gave a firm nod to both of them. “I’ll head there now and send the squad immediately. Take care, Minato-kun.”

With his hand in a position of half the Ram Hand Seal, he vanished in a swirl of emerald leaves.

“I suppose you’ll be going as well, Biwako-sama?” Minato asked, readjusting his headband.

“Yes,” she said, making the same half-seal as her husband. “And for Kami-sama’s sake stop worrying! A man would die from the pain of child labour, but alas she’s born a woman.”

With that she too vanished amidst green leaves.

Minato walked to the entrance, stopping before the Torii gate. His hands flexed open before clenching them into fists, as he observed the setting sun.

_Why can’t I shake off this feeling of terrible things to come?_

 

* * *

 

“It’s time to go Kushina, best not to waste any more time.”

Kushina closed the door of her home and locked it, before following Biwako.

“Is Minato ready, Biwako-sama?” she asked, gently rubbing her swollen belly.

“He’s ready – nervous – but ready,” the elder lady replied. “The boy should really calm himself down. He needs to in order to ensure everything goes smoothly.”

Kushina grinned. “That sounds like him, but I’m sure he’ll compose himself when its time. He’s always been like that.”

They walked along the footpath towards a hidden exit leading to the outpost, passing by many shops and homes. The streets were quiet as many have just closed shop or returned from work. Most will get ready to enjoy the night and the activities available.

Biwako stopped walking when she realised that Kushina wasn’t following, but standing next to a lady that she had walked past. Walking up to them she then realised who she had passed by.

“Wow, he’s so _cute_.” Kushina gushed; she waved her fingers above the baby boy’s face garnering his attention. “Hello there little one, what’s your name?”

“His name is Sasuke.” The lady replied.

Biwako beamed. “Oh Mikoto-san, you named him after Hiruzen’s father?”

Mikoto returned her smile. “Yes, hopefully he’ll grow to be a strong and fine shinobi.”

Sasuke wiggled in his mother’s arms and gave a little cry, Mikoto gently rocked him in her arms to calm him.

Biwako observed the two women who were old team mates, if her memory still served her well. Kushina was sweet-faced, yet her temper was legendary. Her long red hair, a sign of her Uzumaki lineage, flowed straight and down to her waist. Mikoto was glowing, no doubt after the recent birth of her son. Her fine-featured face and shapely body was the envy of many women. Coupled by her status as the wife of Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha Clan, made her a well-known figure in Konoha.

“You’ll be giving birth soon, right?” Mikoto asked, turning to Kushina. “Have you already picked a name?”

“Yes, I picked Naruto.” She answered proudly.

Mikoto nodded. “A strong name.”

“Kushina, we still have work to do.” Biwako stated, hoping to continue on their way.

The soon mother-to-be bowed and faced her old teammate one last time, leaning forward to whisper.

“By the way, does it really hurt?”

Mikoto smirked. “Oh, so there actually _is_ something that scares you, Kushina?”

Before they could continue, Biwako took Kushina’s hand and dragged her away. Mikoto shook her head and smiled at her best friend’s apprehension.

_Such is the rite of passage we women go through…_

The Uchiha Clan had rejoiced at her son’s birth wishing her the best of luck. Many were thinking of Sasuke to turn out like his elder brother Itachi, who was quite a prodigy.

“As long as you’re strong, healthy, and happy, I don’t need anything else.” She spoke to the babe in her arms. Sasuke simply giggled at his mother.

“The details of your birthing are supposed to be a secret at least until the crisis is over. Until then it’s best to avoid contact with friends,” Biwako warned.

“H–Hai (Yes), Biwako-sama,” Kushina replied, slightly scolded.

The elderly woman huffed in annoyance. “Also, we’re leaving the village secretly through a hidden passage. If you start to feel labour pains then try not to cry out loud.”

Kushina winced. “Oh…Right.”

 

* * *

 

A scream of pain rang throughout the cavern, even reaching the entrance where the ANBU (Dark Side) squad stood guard. One of the men shivered at the sound, eliciting laughs from his fellow squad members.

“Your wife is not yet due till sometime next year right?”

“Yeah, can’t imagine what the hell is going through Hokage-sama’s mind. Must be crazy assisting Kushina-san with her birthing.”

“Maybe you can ask him what it’s like after it’s over.”

“Yeah sure, if Kushina-san hasn’t killed him yet.”

“Ever wondered who the father is?”

“No one knows. Kushina-san’s always refused to speak of him. Makes you wonder, huh?”

 

* * *

 

Kushina gripped the small handles on the platform as another scream rang through the chamber. She clenched her teeth and took short quick breaths before pushing once more.

“It hurts, damn it!”

Minato jumped every time she screamed. His hands were clammy and a few beads of sweat were present on his forehead. It was getting really hard to focus on the seal and repair it.

“I’ve never seen Kushina in so much pain. Is…she alright?” he asked, shakily.

“She’s fine!” Biwako shouted. “Just worry about the Kyūbi’s seal. Make sure it’s stable.”

Kushina’s head titled back and she cried out in agony.

“But, she’s–” Minato started, but Biwako wouldn’t let him continue.

“Women are far stronger than you ever realise,” she declared with pride.

Suddenly the young man felt a surge of the Kyūbi’s Chakra. The midsection of the seal was now a large black circle.

_Damn it! The Overseal Design is fading. Come on, I’m the Hokage for Kami’s sake! You can do this._

Minato quickly began weaving his fingers in complex patterns, his fingertips glowing with Chakra. The black circle became a little smaller but still refused to return to its original state.

_The Chakra Channels are breaking and some are even being redirected. I’ll focus on realigning the redirected Channels first, before repairing the broken ones._

Minato’s Chakra flared in response to his urgency. His hands were a flurry of movement; his face was a mask of concentration.

“Taji, get me some more hot water, and also some oil as well,” commanded the elder woman.

Taji, an Iryō-nin, quickly returned with the requested items. Placing them nearby, she moved towards Kushina and once again checked her status. Biwako dipped her hands in the hot water before dipping her hands in some oil.

“Her vitals are still strong, Biwako-sama.” Taji informed.

“Good, with a little luck we might pull this off.”

 

* * *

 

The ANBU squad was unaware of the intruder that had slipped past the small detection barrier. The intruder had made short work of them, utilising his unique abilities. He gripped the last squad member by the throat and slowly choked him till his body was limp. He dumped the body into the small moat around the entrance, before once again checking his surroundings. He walked towards the stone walls and simply phased through it as if it didn’t exist.

As he reached the inner chamber he silently observed the scene before him.

_The Jinchūriki is still in labour, which still gives me ample time to remove the additional seals littered across the room. Removing them should allow for the seal to weaken even further._

The seals that he slowly began to remove were designed to suppress the Bijū’s Chakra. Specifically the Kyūbi’s as it was linked to its Chakra Signature.

 

* * *

 

Hiruzen sat in the Hokage’s office reading the patrol routes and stationary guard positions. Looking up he observed the two men in the office with him.

Shimura Danzō, his old childhood friend, weathered-faced with wrinkles and square-shouldered, he was still looking good for the head of the ROOT ANBU Division. He was wearing ANBU standard black fatigues with armor plates around his forearms and shins. His Jōnin vest was probably loaded with explosives.

Ishikawa Ken’ichi, the Kageken (Shadow Sword), was as usual wearing a face mask which obscured his face from the bridge of his nose down. His left eye was covered by an eye-patch made of cloth rather than the standard leather which are more common. He too, was wearing the same uniform as Danzō, with the exception of fingerless gloves that Danzō didn’t use.

“To be honest Sarutobi-sama, there isn’t anything we can do that could improve the situation.” Ishikawa said, pulling his gloves tighter around his wrist.

Hiruzen looked to his friend and received a nod to confirm his statement. The old man sighed in resignation.

“I just can’t shake this feeling of unease. Like a string pulled tight till the edge of breaking. The slightest breeze would cause it to snap.” He said rubbing his neck and shoulders to ease his tense body.

Danzō moved towards the window and gazed outwards. “My agents and any spare ANBU are scattered across the village, ready to evacuate the villagers to the shelters in a moment’s notice.”

“Exactly,” Ishikawa reaffirmed. “We’ve even given them an extra stock of pills for back-to-back Shunshin (Body Flicker) manoeuvres. Of course, that will only be necessary if the threat _actually_ reaches the village walls.”

Hiruzen gave them both a firm look. “Unlike the Shodaime (First) we’ve never truly encountered a Bijū. They’re beings of pure Chakra and are known to be an unstoppable force when enraged.”

The two men gave him a salute before making their way to the door, and preparing for an all-night stakeout.

 

* * *

 

_I don’t understand this shouldn’t be happening. The seal is breaking down faster than I can repair it. The Overseal Design was just starting to return to its original state, and then it suddenly shatters._

A bead of sweat crawled down the side of Minato’s face as he furiously worked to keep the seal from falling apart. Kushina was panting as she tried to gather herself for another push.

“I can see his head! Come on Kushina, one more try!” Biwako exclaimed.

Minato was at his wits end. The seal was breaking and more of the Kyūbi’s Chakra raged. Kushina gripped the hand bars in the platform and screamed through clenched teeth. A moment passed before the first cries of a newborn child rang through the chamber.

Minato’s face was one of incredulity, eyes wide, mouth open. “He’s born,” he whispered.

“Water quickly!” Biwako commanded.

Taji did as she was ordered, and in a few minutes the baby was warmly wrapped in a cloth bundle as its cries still continued.

“It’s a boy!” the elder woman declared smiling down at the babe in her arms.

Minato laughed and wiped the tears that streamed down his face. “I’m a father today!”

Biwako carried the child and moved along the platform towards Kushina. Minato moved to get a closer look, but was scolded by the woman.

“The mother should see the child first, it’s only right after going through so much pain to bring him into this world.”

Minato rubbed the back of his neck and laughed half-heartedly, feeling properly chastised. Biwako brought the child next to Kushina, who turned to get a better look at her baby. Tears freely flowed down her face as she gazed upon her newborn son. His cries sounded like music to her ears.

“Naruto… I finally get to meet you,” she whispered.

Biwako moved towards the small tables at the other end of the chamber to check the child with Taji to make sure he was in perfect health.

Minato gently held Kushina’s hand. “Are you ok?” he asked, to which his wife slowly nodded.

“Thank you, Kushina.”

She smiled warmly at him.

Minato stood straight and hit his fist against his open hand. “Yoshi!* I know you’ve just gone through childbirth, but I’ll seal the Kyūbi immediately to save time.”

A scream rang through the chamber and two bodies fell to the floor. Naruto’s cries sounded fearful alerting both parents to danger.

Minato turned and saw the bodies of the two women lie still, with their blood quickly pooling.

“Biwako-sama! Taji!” he shouted.

“Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, step away from the Jinchūriki,” the masked intruder demanded. His hand was above the child’s face as if prepared to grasp his head and _twist it_.

Minato and Kushina looked at him but could find no distinct feature beside the unique mask that he wore, as the rest of his body was obscured by a hooded cloak. The markings on the ceramic mask were tribal in design, and to add further confusion it only had one eye-hole to see out of. Neither parent knew of a person who had only one eye, or stylised themselves as such. Neither thought it could be Kakashi, he was too young and the body size didn’t match.

“If you don’t get away from the Jinchūriki, this child’s first minute of life will also be its last.”

_How did he pass the detection barrier? Who the hell is this guy?_

Kushina let out a cry of pain as small scripts of archaic writing crawled along her body. The black circle that was the main part of the seal bulged out like a gigantic blister.

“Kushina,” Minato exclaimed, his voice panic-stricken.

_The Kyūbi’s seal is still yet to be repaired. It’s still degrading and will release the Bijū if I don’t fix it soon._

“My, my, it seems you don’t really care about the brat,” the masked man suddenly slipped a kunai into his empty hand.

“Wait! Stay calm!” Minato pleaded, raising his hands in calming motion.

The man laughed. “Speak for yourself, Minato. I am _very_ calm.”

He immediately drew his hand back and prepared to ram his kunai through the child’s head.

“Naruto!” Kushina screamed, unable to move from the platform.

Minato vanished, suddenly reappearing right next to the man. He placed a single finger on Naruto’s forehead, and in a flash they both vanished only to reappear next to Kushina. All the masked man had in his hands was the cloth that the baby was wrapped in.

_If I didn’t place a Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) Seal on Biwako and Taji, if he wasn’t standing right next to their bodies I wouldn’t have made it in time._

“Well, I must hand it to you _Kiiroi Senkō_ (Yellow Flash) you do indeed move fast,” the invader praised.

He formed a half Ram Hand Seal and gathered Chakra.

“But let’s see if you can handle this.”

He threw the cloth towards Minato which spouted puffs of smoke and sparks.

_Explosive Seal Tags!_

Minato vanished in less than a heartbeat taking the explosives with him appearing in a small shed next to a clearing. He leapt forward as the explosion blew the shed to pieces, rolling to soften his landing and keep Naruto safe.

Naruto cries were the only sounds to be heard as the ringing in his ears subsided. He checked his son and relaxed as he found not a single scratch was on him.

“Thank goodness, he’s not hurt.” he whispered, silently thanking all the gods he knew.

He flinched when he noticed that a sharp piece of wood had pierced the side of his shin. He pulled it out observing the blood on its tip. He threw it away quickly.

_I was forced to use Hiraishin to get out of there. His target was Kushina, and he was successful in separating us. I have to hurry, there’s no time to lose._

With a small pulse of Chakra he vanished into thin air, before the wood piece hit the ground.

 

* * *

 

In a clearing atop a small rock was Kushina. Around her was a lake with tall spires of stone that stood straight and formed an irregular semicircle. Her hands were bound with strings of Chakra reinforced with Fuinjutsu (Sealing Techniques). The strings were actually visible as they appeared to be floating lines of ink and symbols.

She leaned forward gasping for breath, her knees almost buckling beneath her.

“What do you want?” she demanded, raising her head defiantly.

_Where is Naruto, is he safe?_

She felt another surge of pain, but refused to cry out in front of the enemy. The solidity of her seal was degrading even further; the proof was the small vein-like lines of cursives. They had now reached her shoulders and were proceeding down her arms slow-paced, while other strands of scripts reached her cheeks.

“I’m going to tear the Kyūbi out of your body, and destroy Konohagakure (The Village Hidden in the Leaves).”

Kushina’s face was one of horror. Her pulse raced, blood pumping through her as her senses kicked into a state of almost hyper–awareness.

“Minato’s teleportation technique allows him to instantaneously warp to predetermined locations using premade formulae,” he stated, with a sense of strange familiarity.

He then pointed to her stomach which displayed the seal that held the Kyūbi within.

“He made sure to incorporate such a formula into your seal, to always be able to reach you, to _protect_ you.”

He chuckled at his own snide remark.

“But now,” he declared, spreading his arms wide. “I’ve put some distance between you, and the prison that holds Kyūbi is now weakened due to childbirth.”

He lightly hunched forward with his hands in front as if grasping victory.

“Do you realise just how _long_ I’ve waited for this moment?”

 

* * *

 

A shooting star crossed the starlight sky leaving a short-lived trail of light to mark its path.

“Ah, a shooting star!” a small child exclaimed excitedly.

His father smiled down at him.

“Did you make a wish?”

The child paused, before throwing his hands in the air out of frustration.

“Argh! I knew I forgot something,” he whined.

His father ruffled his son’s hair affectionately.

“You’ll do better next time.”

In an alleyway two house-length away, a pair of cats sang to each other seeking comfort in each other’s company. Walking past them were two young teens. Their metal headbands were inscribed with a spiralled leaf, signifying that they were Ninja.

“Can’t we just do Jan–Ken–Pon* again?” whined one of the teens, running his hand through his grey-coloured hair.

“What, no way! Come up with something more exciting, Kakashi,” counter-whined his companion, punching the air in front of him.

“Don’t we have an early tomorrow to prepare for, Gai?” Kakashi asked, hoping to avoid facing off his friend in yet another spar.

Gai looked shocked at the prospect of not facing off against Kakashi.

“Don’t use a mission as an excuse,” he exclaimed, pointing at him accusingly.

Suddenly Kakashi stopped, his body tensed, senses flaring into a higher state. Gai paused at his friend’s abruptness, observing him with curiosity.

“Gai… Do you sense something _off_?” he questioned, head swivelling left and right.

Gai’s previous exuberance melted into calmness as he scanned his surroundings looking for any perceivable threat.

“Now that you mention it, I _have_ noticed a lot more security.”

Kakashi nodded in agreement. “They’re ANBU and yet they aren’t bothering to cloak their presence. That in and of itself means something strange is going on.”

Within the Uchiha Clan Complex was a young boy holding his baby brother in his arms. He gazed solemnly at the full moon feeling a chill down his spine.

“What is this feeling?” he whispered to himself.

The baby suddenly whimpered and started to cry, prompting him to gently hush and console his brother.

_It’s a strange night. Of all the times for Mom and Dad to be out._

He gently rocked the baby hoping to calm him.

“Everything will be alright, Sasuke,” he said, comfortingly. “Your big brother will definitely protect you.”

 

* * *

 

Minato placed his son down gently onto the bed. The shack was designed to be a resting place for Ninja after using the training grounds.

“You’ll be safe here. Just wait here, Naruto.”

He covered the babe with the blanket provided and softly ran his fingers across his child’s head.

“Daddy has to go and rescue Mummy.”

He turned around and knelt down to the ground. Biting down on his thumb hard enough to easily draw blood, he swiftly performed a number of Hand Seals before slamming his palm on the floor. A puff of air swished by as a small toad appeared. Its coat was predominately red with blue markings, and upon its back was the Kanji* for “Gold”.

“You summoned me, Minato,” the toad spoke, his tone demanding to know the reason for being called.

“Kushina has been kidnapped by a masked individual. Even worse is the seal that holds Kyūbi at bay is severely weakened since she just gave birth. There’s a high risk that it could break at any moment, thereby unleashing the Bijū.”

Minato fished around in his pouch and grabbed a single tri-pronged kunai. He handed slipped it into his leg holster and stood up.

“You’re kidding me, right?” the toad’s yellow-black eyes widened, he did not expect such an emergency.

“No,” Minato responded. “I need you to inform Sarutobi-sama about this immediately. He’ll be in the Hokage’s office.”

The toad nodded and made a move towards the door, but he was interrupted.

“Don’t run all the way there, we’re too far. Reverse summon yourself back to Myōbokuzan (Mysterious Tree Mountain), and from there summon yourself directly to Sarutobi-sama.”

With the proper instructions given, the toad clapped his hands and vanished into thin air. Minato looked back at his son before he teleported out.

 

* * *

 

Hiruzen tapped his pipe to rid it of leftover ashes. He had been waiting for quite a while and the stress was slowly building in his shoulders.

_Danz_ ō _and Ishikawa are supposed to report back every hour, on the hour. They should be here any second now._

True to his thoughts they did appear. Danzō from the door, and Ishikawa from the window.

“Anything?” he queried, only to receive a negative response.

He relaxed slightly, but immediately assumed a fighting posture when a toad suddenly materialised on the desk before him. Realising that it was a messenger toad, he calmed down, as did his two companions. The toad looked worried and the three men prepared themselves for the bad news.

“Minato sent me. Kushina has been kidnapped by an unknown assailant, and the seal could break at any second. He’s most likely where the enemy is now and probably in combat.”

The toad stared at Hiruzen for a moment before turning to see the two others that were in the room. Danzō and Ishikawa stood straight and in attention.

“Your orders, Sir?” Ishikawa asked.

“I’ll mobilise all forces and prep the ill-informed to suit up for combat. I’ll also alert the village through the sound system,” he ordered, putting his helmet on and strapping it tight. “You two are to prepare for direct combat.”

Danzō and Ishikawa disappeared in a burst of Chakra-enhanced speed. The toad sensing that its job was done also vanished.

Hiruzen turned on the microphone on the desk and flicked a switch that would sound the alarms throughout the entire village. He licked his lips in preparation to hand out his orders.

 

* * *

 

Kakashi and Gai drew their kunai as soon as the alarms went off village wide. Their heads swivelled left and right searching for the threat. They paused when they heard the Sandaime’s (Third) voice from the speakers.

“Konoha, we have a Code Red Alert! This is not a drill. I repeat, this is _not_ a drill! We have a Code Red Alert! All non-military personnel are to be evacuated to the emergency shelters immediately! All military personnel, if capable, are to speed up the evacuation via back–to–back Shunshin! These are your priority orders until further notice!”

The two teens nodded before rushing into various buildings. They shouted for everyone to move out into the open, where ANBU and ROOT forces were grabbing people and using Shunshin to speed the evacuation process as ordered.

There was multiple officers shouting orders to off-duty Ninja and directing them. Kakashi looked at the one closest to him who kept shouting “Women and children first!”

“Gai,” Kakashi called, who quickly appeared at his friend’s side. “Use the Gates if need be. We need to get as many people to safety. I’ll use my summons to assist.”

His compatriot nodded and suddenly he was a blur of movement as he transported individuals to the bunkers. Kakashi wasted little time biting his thumb to quickly bleed, before performing a series Hand Seals and slamming his palms on the ground.

“Kuchiyose: Ninken Butai! (Summoning: Ninja Dog Unit)”

In a violent gust of displaced air and group of eight dogs of varying sizes appeared.

“Alright guys we have a dire emergency. I need you all to transport as many people to the bunkers as fast as you can. We don’t have much time as I’m not sure exactly what threat has caused this village-wide alert.”

With a unified bark they split up and assisted with the mass evacuation.

Kakashi saw an elderly woman on a balcony of an apartment.

_It’d take too long for her to make her way down to the street level._

Leaping up towards her in a single bound he lifted her onto his back.

“Hold on tight, Bā-san (Old Lady). I’m taking you to the shelter.”

With a pulse of Chakra he blurred out of sight towards his destination.

 

* * *

 

Within the confines of the seal the Kyūbi was pinned to a sphere of rock with all her appendages nailed with stone, and wrapped with chains to keep her restrained. She felt the seal weakening since Kushina was in labour, and now she felt as if freedom was close at hand. The once solid sphere was now molten lava which oozed down and loosened her chains.

The masked man had other things in mind than simply letting the Bijū free. As soon as the Kyūbi felt a presence within the psychological realm of the seal, she thought nothing of it. It wasn’t the first time someone other than her jailor wanted to see her, but she then saw his eye. His _crimson_ eye, the three tomoe’s* swirling as they ensnared her in chains of a different form.

Outside the seal Kushina was cloaked in the Kyūbi’s Chakra. The Chakra bubbled and popped, its consistency resembling a gelatinous substance.

“Now come forth, Kyūbi!” the masked man yelled as he made a half Ram Hand Seal.

A mass of Chakra flooded from Kushina’s abdomen, rising into the air. The mass of energy was thrice the size of a mountain before it condensed into clawed hands and feet. Gale force winds flattened and broke a few trees as nine tails unfurled themselves in a grand show.

The body and shape of a fox with nine tails, yet it also could stand on its hind legs with anthropomorphic ease. It roared to the moon, a sight which it had not laid eyes on for two generations.

“And now to move to the next part of the plan,” he said, walking away from the clearing.

“Stop,” Kushina ordered, having only the strength to raise her upper body. Her body _burned_ in pure agony as she tried to stand, but found that she could not.

The man turned around with a look of astonishment.

“My, my, you Uzumaki Shinobi are quite _exceptional_. Even having a Bijū extracted from you doesn’t kill you. It’s even more impressive considering that you’ve just given birth.”

The Kyūbi tilted its head down and stared at her menacingly. It was clear that the beast was trying to resist the man’s influence.

“You were the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, it seems only _fitting_ that he be the one to kill you.”

With its hand raised in the air, claws gleaming in the moonlight, the Bijū sought to strike down with all its might. Kushina could do nothing but watch as the shadow of the creature’s hand eclipsed her. When its hand stuck the stone top she was on, it caused a shockwave that resulted in the stone spires shattering. The lake water splashed up and outwards, obscuring the surrounding area.

“Well it looks like you’re as quick as your nickname, but your _too late_.”

On a treetop a little distance away from the Kyūbi, Minato held his wife close to his chest.

“Minato, is Naruto safe?”

He nodded. “Naruto’s fine and in a safe place for now.

Her entire body relaxed at his answer. Knowing her child was safe was the greatest relief.

“Minato, he’s going to attack the village. We have to stop him.”

She gripped his shirt trembling from the full presence of the Kyūbi. Turning his head slightly, he glared at the man who attacked his wife; his eyes shimmered with restrained vengeance. With a pulse of Chakra he vanished, leaving the man and beast alone.

 

* * *

 

Back at the shack he placed Kushina next to Naruto on the bed. She gently caressed his small head. Tears flowed down as she cuddled herself to his tiny self. Minato’s fists clenched tight enough to almost draw blood, his frame shaking with fury at the situation.

He turned around and withdrew a scroll from his pocket. Opening the scroll revealed a seal that released a flak jacket and a short sleeved white haori*. He placed the jacket on first, quickly zipping it up and checking the small chest pockets for the extra equipment stored inside. After verifying his pockets he slipped on the haori which had red flame motifs along the bottom, and on the back were a string of Kanji that read “Yondaime Hokage”.

“The village has already been alerted through a messenger toad,” he stated tying the straps of the haori together.

“I’ll be back in a flash, Kushina.”

“This is the _Kyūbi_ we’re dealing with! You can’t take it head on, not like the Shodaime! (First)”

Kushina’s warning made him pause. Minato was terrified. Nothing he had ever faced before could have prepared him for this. The war was a paradise compared to the utter chaos of the current situation.

“True, but we can stall for time. It’s the least we can do until the preparations to reseal it are ready. For now, stay here with Naruto.”

With his mind made up he vanished into the night.

 

* * *

 

The mysterious attacker phased through the walls of a house as he appeared in an empty alleyway. The sound of sirens blared all over the village and from his position he could see a multitude of people rushing to safety.

_Fools, you are only delaying the inevitable._

He lifted his mask up enough to bite his thumb, before pulling it back down. Without any Hand Seals he slammed his palm down on the ground.

“Kuchiyose: Kyūbi! (Summoning: Nine Tails)”

A spider-web of scripts crawled along the ground, up and along the walls, and over any object in its way. Suddenly the buildings, objects and people that were touched by the markings were instantly crushed. The sudden displacement of air was so great that concrete walls cracked, wooden beams snapped, and any people that weren’t crushed by the initial effect were sent flying into the air.

“What the hell is going on?”

“What is that?”

“It _can’t_ be…”

The Kyūbi released a deafening roar into the air and unfurled its tails, crushing the surrounding buildings. The summoner watched from afar at his work.

“Go, Kyūbi! Unleash your fury upon the world!” he declared.

The creature roared again and began to thrash the buildings around itself with unbridled anger. Sweeping its hands and tails it flattened everything in its path. The people were unable to move and could do nought but watch the calamity unfold around them.

 

* * *

 

Within various complexes the members of each of the Konoha clans mobilised themselves for combat. The head of each clan ordered the women, children, and elders to be taken to the bunkers.

“All members who can perform long range shots are to form a line on me!” Hiashi commanded. “All others are to evacuate the house taking the family with them. Hizashi, you’re in charge until I return.”

Hiashi’s twin brother nodded and motioned for the clan to move towards the exit.

“We’re going to use a Hit–and–Run tactic against the beast,” Hiashi explained, receiving several people’s attention.

“We use Shunshin to appear close to it, attack with Hakke Kūhekishō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm), and then use Shunshin to escape from its range.”

The clan members with him all nodded in agreement at the idea.

“Alright then, let’s move out!”

They all leapt over the complex’s walls and rushed towards the beast full sprint.

Shikaku and Inoichi of the Nara and Yamanaka clans worked to evacuate as many people to the shelters.

“We’re running out of time,” Inoichi stated. “We _need_ more options.”

“You and I are _useless_ against that thing, so are the rest of our clans,” Shikaku countered. “All we can do is leave it up to Chōza to deal with it.”

The two clan leaders were commanding their clan members who were escorting Akimichi clansmen to the bunkers once their own had reached safety.

Chōza had a line of men before him all garbed in battle armour.

“The plan is simple,” he shouted, hoping they could hear him over the panicked screams and shouts, as well as the collapsing buildings.

“The first group uses Bubun Baika no Jutsu (Partial Multi–Size Technique) to launch the rest towards the beast. Those thrown in the air use the Baika no Jutsu (Multi–Size Technique), and then follow up with Nikudan Sensha (Spiked Human Bullet Tank).”

They all nodded in agreement before splitting into two groups.

“I pray to Kami-sama that Shikaku’s crazy idea works,” the Akimichi clan leader whispered, clapping his hands for a moment before moving out.

On the other side of the village was another pair of clan leaders working together.

“Get the weak and wounded to safety,” Tsume shouted, the matriarch of the Inuzuka clan. “The regular forces can get the rest out of the way.”

She turned to her friend Shibi, the head of the Aburame clan. “Aren’t you gonna do _something_?”

He turned towards her, his face stoic.

“As always, you are passionate in battle,” he stated, he motioned his right hand which was in the half Ram Hand Seal. “I’m communicating with all the insects in range and getting a broader picture of the situation. Why? Because I’m then relaying that information to my battle–ready clansmen, who can then save those our eyes can’t see, or ears can’t hear, or nose can’t smell.”

She huffed and turned to stare at the massive beast that was destroying the village.

“Always with that cool and calm attitude. Hmph! What do think you are, a ladies man?”

Shibi’s lips twitched in a way that Tsume could have sworn was a smirk.

“Well, my wife likes to think so...”

 

* * *

 

Atop one of the faces carved into the mountainside, a lone figure stood observing the chaos below.

_I can’t let this go on any further. It has to be stopped soon._

The Kyūbi paused in its rampage and looked straight at Minato.

“So you finally noticed me, did you?”

The beast opened its great maw and globules of high density Chakra formed a large black ball. With a roar it fired the ball much like a cannon straight at him. It completely flattened everything in its path, until only a conical crater could be seen from its initial point of fire.

Just before it reached Minato on the mountainside, a spider-web of scripts stretched out the length and breadth of one of the faces carved into the mountain. The destructive sphere hit the web and appeared to be absorbed by it. Once it completely dissolved into the web of seals, Minato held his hands in front of him and sent out a pulse of Chakra.

A flash of light enough to brighten the night sky shined from a large distance away. The dome of light was as large as the village itself.

_If it’s that destructive then I can’t simply teleport its attacks haphazardly._

 

* * *

 

Somewhere down in the streets atop a roof was a man observing the disappearance of the Kyūbi’s attack.

“So the kid decided on a Jikūkan Kekkai (Space–Time Barrier) to send it safely away. A smart move, and possibly the _only_ move he can do in that situation.”

Jiraiya stood alongside his teacher Hiruzen as he also watched the event.

“We’re running out of time, Jiraiya,” the old Hokage said.

“I know. At this point an all–out attack is all we can do to drive it out of the village boundary.”

The aged warrior turned around and performed a few hand seals after biting his thumb.

“Kuchiyose: Enkōō Enma (Summoning: Monkey King Enma)!”

A large ape appeared with long white hair that reached into his back, long sideburns and a goatee. He wore a black suit with mesh armour underneath, over which he wore a sleeveless kimono shirt with white fur trimmings, and markings reminiscent of tiger stripes on it held closed by a sash.

“I can see now why you summoned me, Sarutobi,” Enma whispered, looking at the Bijū with caution.

“We need to push it out of the village. Enma, please assist me.”

The king of apes nodded before assuming a strange stance. His arms spread wide and back as if mimicking the wings of a bird, while one of his legs was in the air and bent as if he were sitting cross-legged.

“Henge: Kongōnyoi (Transfomation: Vajra Nyoi*)!”

In a puff of white vapour he shifted into a thick staff that looked as if made with black iron, and was gold–tipped on both ends.

Sarutobi gripped the staff and willed it to shrink and thin into a more manageable form. He then stabbed it into the ground and performed another set of Hand Seals.

“Ninpō: Onsei Zōfuku (Ninja Art: Audio Amplification).”

Sarutobi walked to the edge of the roof, preparing for full combat.

“All units prepare to assault on my mark!” his voice boomed, every ear in the village could hear him.

He grabbed the staff and leapt towards to beast with Jiraiya alongside him.

 

* * *

 

The masked man phased through the ground and stood behind his target. Minato sensed a presence rear of him and attacked. The tri-pronged kunai in his hand simply phased through his head. The attacker grasped Minato’s hand as soon as his attack didn’t touch any part of him.

“I’m your opponent now, and it’s all over!”

The crimson eye spun three tomoe’s before morphing into an entirely different shape. Three stretched triangles evenly spaced around a red pupil that each curved at the top around the eye to form a circle, making it look almost reminiscent to a pinwheel.

The area around both men warped and distorted before slowly sucking them inside the eye. Minato suddenly vanished before he could be pulled in, leaving only the man alone atop the mountain.

_He’s fast. I’ll get him next time, the instant I touch him._

Minato crashed next to the destroyed shed he had teleported to back when Kushina was kidnapped and was forced to take the explosives with him.

_My attack missed, or rather it simply phased through. He tried to suck me in as soon as he materialised. What kind of Jutsu (Technique) was that? It felt similar to the space–time warping sensation when I perform the Hiraishin no Jutsu. Slower, yet felt the same._

A few metres away the area distorted and the man appeared before him.

“Did you think I’d let you get away?” he taunted.

_So he can use Space–Time Ninjutsu (Ninja Technique[s]). Which is how he kidnapped Kushina and took her fair distance away._

Minato slowly stood up, his special kunai in hand.

_A ninja skilled enough to take out an elite ANBU squad, and slip past the high level detection barrier that surrounded the area. Who also knew about the Kyūbi’s seal, enough to know it would weaken during childbirth. Knew enough to be able to break the seal as well. Furthermore, he managed to slip inside Konoha without tripping the barrier that the Kekkai (Barrier) Division set up and manage. He tamed the Kyūbi and also has the Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye)._

Minato assumed a fighting stance with his kunai in front.

_I know of only one person capable of all those things, even if it is unlikely._

“Are you Uchiha Madara?” Minato asked.

The man pushed his hood back revealing the leather strap that held his mask in place, and what appeared to be a face mask much like the one Kakashi wore. Minato noticed that the man didn’t show any response to his question.

_Then what will you say to this?_

“No, you’re not Madara. He’s long dead,” Minato stated, fishing for any information he could get.

The man tilted his head slightly and responded mockingly. “I wonder about that.”

“At this point it doesn’t really matter who you are,” Minato declared. “But why are you targeting Konoha?”

“You could say I did it on a whim,” the man answered. “Or that I planned it.”

He raised his hand as a long rope of chains fell, with one end having a wrist clamp.

“Or you could say it’s for the sake of war,” he continued. “Or that it’s for the sake of peace.”

The man attached the wrist clamp to himself and pulled the chain to ensure it’s ready for use.

_So he’s not Madara that much is certain, but the real Madara could have been alive long enough to impart the information that enabled him to cause this much chaos. Not to mention the dangerous ideology that he follows._

Minato could hear an explosion sound off in the distance.

_I can’t teleport to the village; he’ll simply follow me and make the battlefield even more chaotic. Nevertheless he has the Kyūbi under his control, no doubt due to the contract. I’ll need to break it, and to do so means I have to take first blood. I just hope the Sandaime can hold the situation long enough for me to do something._

“Now that the Kyūbi is free, you people have no hope!” the man said before he charged straight forward.

Minato leapt towards him and thrust his kunai into the middle of his chest, only to phase through. Then before he could turn around the chains that the man had attached to himself stopped him. He sent a pulse of Chakra and teleported to one of his marked kunai.

_Physical attacks are pointless, they simply phase through. But there is a weakness. He has to materialise in order to attack me. Therefore simultaneous blows are my best bet._

Minato turned around and faced his enemy once more.

_It’s all down to timing. Whoever is a split–second faster will be victorious._

Once again they both charged forward, but before they were within arms–length of each other Minato threw his kunai at his head. He watched as the weapon phased through, hoping his reflexes were sharper than his enemy. His other hand flared with Chakra as it created a whirling sphere of pure destructive force. Its blue light shined with brilliance illuminating the two combatants.

As Minato thrust his hand forward hoping to strike his foe with his Ninjutsu, the man stretched his hand forward as far as he could hoping to touch Minato and warp him away the instant he made contact.

“I win,” the masked man said, before his target vanished before his eyes.

Minato appeared above the man and grabbed the flying kunai with his free hand.

_Checkmate!_

With as much strength as he could muster, Minato slammed the ball of Chakra right at him. The man hit the ground with such force that the grass field cracked and cratered.

_Damn it! He teleported to the kunai he threw earlier._

“Hiraishin Level Two!” Minato shouted. The cloak the man had disintegrated as did the clothes he wore underneath, revealing the torn flesh of his back. Minato could easily see the white bone segments of his spine.

Without a single moment’s hesitation Minato marked the man’s spine with his Fuinjutsu formula, before leaping away into the cloud of dust that surrounded them.

A few seconds later the wounded man leapt atop one of the chunks of terrain that spiked up when he was slammed into the earth. He held his left arm which suddenly fell off at hit the ground; it appeared as if it _melted_ off.

“My, my, you got me,” the man said, ignoring the pain he felt. “Perhaps this is what they mean by _elusive_.”

Before he could say anything else he felt pain in his gut. Minato had teleported to him and stabbed him with his kunai before he could even react.

_He… He marked my body somewhere when he first struck me!_

Minato placed his hand on the man’s chest and soon a web of seals spread across his body.

“With this you no longer have any control over the Kyūbi,” the Yondaime stated.

With the contract cancelled Minato leapt back to a safe distance away.

“Impressive, you wounded me and broke my control over the Kyūbi,” the man praised. “But, it matters not; the Kyūbi will be mine, in time.”

The area around him began to warp.

“I _will_ rule this world, and there are _many_ ways to go about it.”

Those were his final words before disappearing into the night.

 

* * *

 

The Kyūbi shook its head as the illusion that bound its will faded away. It looked around at the village it was inside of as if searching for something. It roared in fury and began to once again destroy all that surrounded it.

A woman raised herself up on her knees shoving a large slab of concrete off her back. Beneath her was a young boy, her son. His father stood a few metres away blood flowing from a cut on his head.

“Tou-san*, Kaa-san’s* –” he started to shout before he was cut off.

“Why didn’t you run to the shelter?” his father scolded. “I’ll take care of her; just get to the shelter _now_.”

“No, I’m not going to leave you both alone!” the boy shouted.

“Do as I damn well tell you! It’s the duty of the parents to protect their child!” His father’s face looked furious, yet his eyes betrayed his internal fears.

In a position elsewhere, Sarutobi and Jiraiya were preparing the strike the beast with the rest of the available squads.

“All units, attack!” Sarutobi commanded.

A group of Hyūga appeared before the beast, palms drawn back.

“As one,” cried Hiashi. “Hakke Kūhekishō!”

A concussive wall of Chakra slammed into the midsection of the creature, pushing it back till its hind legs hit the outer walls of Konoha.

The Hyūga force retreated giving way for the next unit to attack. The Akimichi were split into two groups. The first made their arms the size of a giant’s before throwing their fellow clansmen at the beast, the second expanded themselves to the size of houses and spun like a top.

As each human boulder slammed into the creature, it was pushed further and further back. The beast was finally outside the village walls. Sarutobi leapt down to the ground level and secured his footing with Chakra.

“Enma, extend,” he commanded to his staff. The ape–turned–staff lengthened and speared the Kyūbi in the chest, but it didn’t pierce its flesh. Instead it pushed the beast even further away from the village.

“Finally, it’s out of the village,” the Sandaime commented, hoping they could keep it out.

 

* * *

 

In a place near the emergency shelters was a group of young teens all adorning the forehead protectors that signified that they were Ninja. A thick barrier prevented them from leaving the area.

“The lot of you are to stay away from the Kyūbi,” the leading officer ordered.

A young girl in the front of the group frowned. “What do you mean?”

“This isn’t a battle between villages. This is a domestic issue; therefore there is no reason to risk your lives.”

“What, but we can help! We’re just as capable as you are!” the girl shouted.

“We are _Shinobi_. We are not guaranteed long lives.” The officer’s face softened. “Kurenai, my daughter, at least live long enough to pass the Will of Fire to my grandchildren.”

Kurenai’s eyes widened at her father’s request.

“Make that oath to your father,” he said. “I believe in you.”

 

* * *

 

"Hold the line, don't let it breach the village walls," the Sandaime commanded.

Leaping into the air, the adamantine staff he held elongated before striking the beast's nose. The Kyubi released a roar that created concussive shockwaves. Trees snapped and fell whilst shinobi that were caught in the blast exploded in a shower of blood and powdered bone. The past few minutes felt like years in the beast's presence. Such was its bloodlust and crushing rage.

Jiraiya appeared, slamming his hand into the ground before a wall of earth the size of the red walls of Konoha arose from the ground, acting as an obstacle for the beast.

"Damn, this thing doesn't know when to quit," he said in an exasperated manner.

The beast sucked in a single deep breath, its belly expanding like a balloon. Its mass seemed to be almost doubled, it held the air within for a few seconds. Those few seconds felt like an eternity, before the beast exhaled a cloud of its Chakra into the air above the village.

The Chakra looked as if it was made of jelly as it wobbled in the air over the village. A single moment passed before the cloud burst and rained its energy all over. Jiraiya flared his legs with Chakra leaping over the broken walls of Konoha ignoring the cry to stop from his teacher.

Fire blazed wherever it touched, painting the whole village in bright flames. The Kyūbi’s Chakra had sinister intentions of its own. Some of the Chakra had simply combusted setting alight whatever it touched along the surfaces of the streets and buildings, but some simply coagulated and clung to surfaces like blood.

Jiraiya could see a number of ninja performing Suiton (Water Release) Ninjutsu to douse any flames. He walked near a wall that had some of the beast’s Chakra painted on it. A small thread of it suddenly came alive and reached out to touched him, he could feel his skin burn and suddenly begun having thoughts of such malicious nature that only a psychopath would be proud of.

The images faded as his own Chakra burned it out of his system. Heading down further into the village, he then observed the full effect of the energy. Civilians that had yet to be taken to the shelters were killing each other. Some were even _mutilating_ themselves. Others were committing acts that would have them locked up for life.

A man to his left next to a burning shop clawed his face over and over till he fell down, dead.

_He… He gouged his eyes out. Wasn’t he the baker who arrived here a week ago?_

Jiraiya remembered the man giving him a sweet pastry for free.

Over to his right he saw even more insanity occurring. A young girl who couldn’t be more than five years of age was being choked to death by an older child. It was clear to him that the girl was already dead. Her mouth open, tongue out, and eyes bulging. Yet the elder child kept his grip on the girl’s neck and throttled her violently.

_They’re the kids of that jewel merchant from the capital._

Out in front more than a few metres away Jiraiya noticed a woman covered in blood. She held something in her bloodied hands and was tearing into it with abandon. When he realised who she was and what exactly she was eating, he collapsed and emptied the contents of his stomach on the street.

_She that ANBU guy’s wife. She’s supposed to give birth sometime next year._

Forcing his body to move, he rose and walked down towards an alleyway. He hoped to avoid any other scenes, but only to come across another sight of human depravity. At the end of the alley was the path to the street parallel to the one he had just escaped. He looked on in shock as a crowd of men were raping women in full view.

_Is this the power of Kyūbi? They always said it was a creature of hate and malevolence, but I could never believe such things, until now. I thought they were just fanciful tales to scare little children into behaving._

He clapped his hands together and started to gather Chakra.

_There isn’t much time, and this has to end now._

He focused his mind and forced one of Hachimon (Eight Gates) to open.

“Kaimon (Gate of Opening), Kai (Release)!”

Jiraiya’s body flooded with Chakra as one of his internal energy reservoirs broke open. He bit his thumb drawing blood and with a few Hand Seals he slammed his palms onto the ground.

Two small toads appeared and before they could say anything, Jiraiya picked them up and placed them on his shoulders.

“No time to explain, we have a Bijū to subdue.”

_Sennin Mōdo (Sage Mode)._

Jiraiya leapt back towards the beast in a single leap, joining the battle with renewed strength.

The Kyūbi's maw opened wide, balls of liquid and solid appeared and began to concentrate and form a sphere of nearly its own size.

_Is, is that Chakra? So much that it can appear in solid form._

The sphere condensed until it was possible for the beast to swallow it whole. After the Kyūbi consumed the ball of pure Chakra, small wisps of light shone from the gaps between its teeth.

_No, if it releases that much energy, it'll wipe Konoha off the map!_

The beast's jaw began to open, hoping to obliterate the village in a single shot. The Sandaime landed beneath its lower jaw, pointing his staff, Enma, upwards.

"Enma, Extend!" he shouted.

The staff's length grew, shooting towards the mouth of the creature.

"Senjutsu: Rasenrengan (Sage Technique: Spiralling Serial Spheres)."

Jiraiya attacked in tandem with two blue spheres of Chakra, hoping that this on-the-spot plan worked.

The Kyubi reeled backed, unleashing the blast upwards to the sky. The beam's power was to such an extent that one may even think it tore the night sky asunder.

The beast was undeterred by its failure and once again began charge another sphere. Before Sarutobi or Jiraiya could think of a countermeasure, a giant toad only marginally smaller than the Kyūbi fell from the sky and slammed onto the creature’s back.

“That’s Gamabunta!” cried one of the shinobi. “And Yondaime-sama’s with him!”

“Bunta, pin him down for a while!” Minato ordered.

“That ain’t such an easy task!” the Boss of Toads replied.

The great amphibian struggled to hold the head of the beast in place. It was still charging up its attack despite being pinned down. Minato gathered as much energy as he could before leaping down onto the creature’s fur and teleporting out.

The Kyūbi vanished making the toad hit the ground. The crowd of shinobi wondered what had just happened. A dome of light erupted far away marking the place where Minato had taken the creature.

“Quickly, everyone follow me!” the Sandaime commanded, rushing towards the location.

 

* * *

 

Minato instantly teleported as soon as the beam of light left the mouth of the beast. He appeared in the shack where he had left Kushina and his son.

“Minato,” Kushina exclaimed, as he sank to his knees. “What’s going on?”

“The man who attacked us is gone, but we need to seal the Kyūbi _now_.”

Minato looked up, but was unable to meet her eyes. Kushina knew then and there exactly what her husband was planning.

“No, _absolutely not_!” she cried. “We are _not_ sealing it inside our son.”

“We don’t have much of a choice.” he said, slowly rising to his feet.

“I won’t place that burden on my son!” she wept. “Can’t you seal it in back inside me?” she pleaded.

“Look at your seal, Kushina,” he pointed. “It’s so damaged and wrecked that it’ll take _days_ to repair it well enough to be of any use.”

He felt a pang of pain in his chest as he saw his wife weep, knowing that he was right.

“Kushina, I’m sorry,” he whispered, tears flowing down his face. “You loved me, cared for me, made me a father, and brought so much into my life. I’m the Hokage and yet I’m powerless to save us all.”

He reached out and held her close to him, seeking whatever comfort he could find.

“Whenever I dreamed of the future,” Kushina began. “I saw nothing but happiness. You, me, and Naruto, all one happy family.”

Minato released her and wiped his tears away.

“I’ll use the Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) to draw the Kyūbi inside Naruto.”

Kushina shook her head. “You don’t have enough Chakra, we’ll both have to use it.”

Minato wanted to disagree, but could not dispute her statement.

“If we both apply the Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style), then…” Kushina theorised.

“Naruto will be able to withstand the full power, and they’ll be no ‘corrosion’ until late in his life.” Minato finished.

A deafening roar signalled that time was no longer on their side.

 

* * *

 

Minato teleported to Gamabunta who was waiting at the broken walls of Konoha.

“No time to lose Bunta. We have a Bijū to take down.” Minato said.

“Well what are you waiting for? My wife could use a fur coat,” replied the giant toad.

Minato teleported him to the field where he had sent the Kyūbi before vanishing again. A moment passed and he returned with Kushina and his son in tow.

“Bunta pin him down,” Minato requested.

“As you wish,” was the toad’s reply.

Gamabunta and the Kyūbi launched themselves at each other. Kyūbi's fang and claw against Gamabunta's blade. With a deft twist, the toad's blade pierced the snout of the beast, pinning it to the ground.

Kushina stood aside Minato, tears forgotten, replaced with fierce determination. The clasped their hands together in the same Hand Seal. Their final moments had begun as they cried out each step and technique.

"Shiki Fūjin."

The Shinigami (Death God/God of Death) appeared behind both Minato and Kushina. Its eerie smile brought fear into the beast's mind. A ghostly hand protruded from Naruto's stomach and latched itself to the Kyubi's head, drawing it into the child's body.

"Shishō Fūin (Four Symbols Seal)."

Inscriptions appeared on the belly of their child written in obscure text.

"Hakke no Fūin Shiki."

The inscriptions glowed, signifying that they now combined.

Naruto begun to glow and shine until the light became almost as bright as the sun itself. A blast of radiance erupted as his parents fell to the ground dead.

 

* * *

 

He struck the cloth bag again and again. The thin material was already stained dark red with blood. The guards at the door watched with fearful eyes, as their king attacked the hanging sack mercilessly. Ezekiel paused, breathing deeply. He looked at his hands drenched in crimson; he clenched them into fists again feeling the tackiness of the liquid.

“Open the bag,” he commanded.

The guards did as they were told, almost tripping over themselves in haste. With a dagger they cut open the bag. The body that dropped to the floor did so with a wet smack. The limbs and ligaments were bent in angles they were never supposed to go, the flesh long since blue-black from the trauma. It was a most grotesque sight that had one of the men nearly puking. Only the fear of showing such weakness before his liege-lord prevented the contents of his stomach to be publically displayed.

“The next time one of my men fails their duty, educate them before _I_ do.”

“Y–Yes, milord,” saluted the guards.

Ezekiel made his way out of the room, heading towards the baths. The halls he walked through were adorned with paintings of his ancestors, depicting their great deeds. As he reached the baths he nodded at the guards at the entrance, who understood that they were to leave.

Stripping himself of all clothing he waded into the pool. He stood waist-deep and simply basked in its warmth. Cupping his hands with water he splashed his face, ridding his cheeks of the blood that coloured them. The purity of the water was now marred by crimson swirls.

Ezekiel heard footsteps behind him. He paused to hear each footfall. He knew it wasn’t any of his men; they never walked with confidence in his presence. Turning around he observed his bath-time intruder.

The oil–lit lamps could only illuminate the lower portion of man’s face. From the slight turning of his head, Ezekiel guessed he was observing the ornate designs of the chamber and its architecture.

Ezekiel submerged himself fully beneath the water before lazily rising to greet his guest.

“The great god himself graces me with his presence,” he said, mockingly. His amber eyes revealed a sense of anger beneath his false mirth. Strands of black hair clung to his face, lending a look of insanity to his smirk.

“I have come as you so childishly demanded. What do you want?” the hooded figure demanded. His voice was a rich timbre that echoed through the bath chamber.

Ezekiel ignored the insult and clapped his hands. “I hope your journey was well. Shall I call for refreshments?”

A small child appeared from behind one of the many pillars that upheld the high ceiling. A girl that could only be no more than seven summers old. Her tiny frame trembled as she forced herself to move closer to her master. The serving plate she held quivered, the cup placed on it clattered to the floor before she took more than three steps. Tears welled in her eyes before rushing down her cheeks as she began to sob almost uncontrollably. It seemed a miracle that she wasn’t wailing by sheer will or absolute fear, perhaps a violent concoction of both. Her legs buckled and she collapsed in a small heap, whimpering apologies.

Ezekiel stepped out of the water towards the girl, watering dripping off his naked body. Reaching down, he grabbed her by the hair and slowly lifted her to his own height. Even in great pain she forced herself to not cry out. Her hands clasped together begging forgiveness she would not receive.

“I’ve already punished you twice now, haven’t I _little girl_?” he whispered. “Perhaps you _enjoy_ my punishment.”

“I didn’t come here to chat or observe your fetish for young children,” said the cloaked man, clearly repulsed by the behaviour displayed before him.

He pulled his hood back revealing his features. Silver hair flowed and framed his face, making his alabaster skin seem darker. His eyes were his most noticeable figure; the colours were inverted. The white of his eyes, the sclera, was black as can be. His iris was white as snow with his pupils glowing ethereally.

“I was hoping to have a nice conversation,” Ezekiel said, releasing the girl. “The truth is I need your help, Lucifer.”

“What help?” Lucifer asked, his gaze drifting towards the girl, still cowering before her master. She returned his gaze, eyes pleading for salvation. Salvation he could not give.

“The prince of Narevia looks strikingly identical to my dearly departed uncle. When I first engaged the prince in battle I thought that my uncle had risen from the grave,” Ezekiel began. “I faced the prince thrice in combat and it was then when I learnt his name.”

He pointed his finger accusingly at Lucifer. “His name is Alltariss, the _exact_ same name as my uncle. They even call him Alto, my uncle’s nickname that everyone used to call him by.”

“Is there a point to this tale?” Lucifer drawled, obviously provoking the king.

“What sorcery have you done? What mockeries of my family have you committed?” Ezekiel hissed through grinding teeth.

“Your uncle was a good man. I pitied his existence, and so I put him to good use,” Lucifer answered, nonchalantly. “Reincarnating him as your enemy was a fitting purpose. He didn’t deserve the treatment he received from his own people, because of the foolishness of a mad king.”

“My father was not mad!” Ezekiel shouted, enraged. “My uncle was a traitor and a kin-slayer.”

“If only you knew the truth of what really happened between them,” Lucifer whispered, shaking his head. “Do you _truly_ believe that your mother cried for your father, that her tears were for him, a _madman_ who treated her like a common _whore_?”

So furious was Ezekiel that he could not find the words to answer back to the god. His insinuations were akin to striking him in the face.

The atmosphere in the chamber changed, the air suddenly felt heavier. Lucifer's presence became almost tangible as his frosted rage sent chills down Ezekiel's spine.

"You are no longer my _concern_. I gave up on lost causes like you and your people the moment you all became enamoured by your own power. You were my children once, but you strayed from the path." Lucifer's voice cut into him like chips of frigid ice.

Placing his hood back on, he turned and began to exit the chamber.

"The sins you've committed are _beyond_ redemption. Just look at what you've already done to that girl and what you will do to her once I leave. You feel no pity, no remorse, no guilt. Aren't you _ashamed_ of what you've done?"

He continued to walk; his body wavered and began to fade away.

"Aren't you ashamed of who you are, _Demon King_?"

 

* * *

 

He had the girl’s hands tied, blindfolded her, and hung from the ceiling, her toes just barely touching the soft mattress beneath her. Her soft cries were the only sounds heard in the bedchamber. Ezekiel lounged languidly on the edge of the mattress watching her intently. He had stripped her of all clothing, leaving her flesh exposed for his enjoyment.

He marvelled at the small scars that littered her petite body. In his hands was a single long feather from a hawk. Focusing the Mana in his body, he willed the feather to float into the air and move at his command.

It floated to the girl’s feet and lightly touched her toes, making her flinch.

“Shhh…” Ezekiel hushed softly. “This is your punishment, your penance for your disgraceful service.”

His fingers moved and the feather mimicked his will. It slowly brushed against her ankle and flowed along her skin upwards. Her body trembled terribly as it leisurely travelled up her leg.

“And even worse,” he chastised. “You did so before a _very_ important guest.”

The feather glided and stopped at the dip of her collarbone. With an extra application of Mana Ezekiel hardened the edge of the feather to a razor finish, before slashing down. The girl yelped in pain, and started weeping uncontrollably.

He tilted his head back and breathed deeply, as if to drink in the sound of her cries. The cut was shallow, _just enough_ to draw the most minuscule amount of blood.

“Tonight’s session has only begun,” he said. “I hope it will help you remember to be more useful. Or you and I will be spending _much_ more time together.”

He moved his fingers again and the feather softly caressed her navel. With a sharp movement it sliced into her once more. Her cries would continue on throughout the entire night.

 

* * *

 

Ezekiel sat upon his throne staring down at the marble floor. Cross-hatched lines of hieroglyphs inlaid into the black marble covered the floor. They told the history of the royal house, each line a person and their deeds.

_Even our own god abandons us. Can he not comprehend the importance of winning this war? Humans are a plague, filth unfit to rule. They preach peace, yet wage war against our kind simply because of our customs. They preach friendship, yet stab each other in the back. And when called on their deceitfulness, they don’t even have the courage to admit it and stand by their own convictions. They preach equality, yet they trust blood more than ability._

Ezekiel gave a derisive snort.

“What nonsense! Equality doesn't exist. No one can be equal. One will always be stronger or weaker than the other. The strong devour the weak. That is the rule, the absolute law that governs all life. It is how one becomes stronger, more powerful; it is the key to greatness that separates the king from the peasants.”

The sound of a pair of hands clapping echoed through the room. A single figure appeared from behind one of the pillars at the side of the room. Ezekiel’s eyes scrutinised every feature of the man, attempting to find weakness.

“Who are you, and for what purpose do you stand before me?” he demanded the mysterious visitor. The man wore a wooden mask with no discernable markings to be found.

“I come on behalf of my master, who has grand designs set in motion. His power is greater than anything one can imagine, his knowledge is even greater.”

The masked man spoke of his master in a tone suggesting that he was revered highly, that his master was a man of great power.

“My master seeks a variety of artefacts and relics that would grant him unimaginable power, enough to achieve his goal of total dominion over the gods themselves.”

A small chuckle escaped Ezekiel’s mouth, before becoming full laughter.

“And pray tell, what is stopping me from seeking these artefacts on my own and taking their power into myself?”

The masked man shook his head.

“How could you, when you lack both the knowledge and power to leave this world?”

Ezekiel paused, the statement sparking his mind into deep thought.

“You speak as if you can travel to other worlds. You speak of things that _cannot_ be done.”

Ezekiel could practically see the sly smile behind the mask.

“Ah, but it _can_ be done. According to the history of your world the only method of traversing worlds other than this one is through the Cross Gates.”

The man once again shook his head.

“But that is only for those who lack the power to use alternative methods.”

“Why tell me all this? What do you seek?” the king of demons asked.

“All my master desires are a few loyal subjects, whom he will reward greatly?”

The king paused in thought, weighing the choices before him. “If I choose to ally myself with your master, what will I gain?”

“You desire a world free from humans, a world that is all yours to rule. My master can grant it so. You wish for more gold in your coffers, more women, more soldiers, consider it _done_. Even if you want to rule _more_ than this world, it can be given.”

Ezekiel was bought and sold in that moment of time.

“I accept.”

 

* * *

 

“In all my life, no matter how many times I see you,” Alto whispered into the air. “It never fails to take my breath away.”

The rising sun bloomed from the horizon illuminating the grass fields outside the city walls. He breathed deeply as the morning rays splashed against him. The frosted air revitalised his body with each lungful.

The tower balcony gave a perfect view of the city. The sound of bells could be heard as the monasteries began their morning prayers.

“Sire, forgive me, I did not mean to fall asleep during my duties.”

Turning around Alto gave a smile and laughed at the horror on the young boy’s face.

The prince ruffled his hair playfully. “Relax kid, I don’t expect you to stay awake all through the night. I’m not so cruel to do so.”

The boy relaxed and gave a sigh of relief. “Thank the Goddess; I thought I’d be flogged.”

Alto laughed again, shaking his head at the boy’s exaggeration.

“If I may inquire sire?” the boy asked, receiving a nod to continue. “Why are you dressed for combat? And that too a common scouts armour?”

“I’ll be going on a small outing, probably to the forest nearby. I haven’t hunted in a while,” the prince responded.

Alto walked back inside his chamber before turning around to face the balcony. He gaged the distance and prepared to run.

“Please tell me you’re not going to jump off the tower _again_ , Sire?” the young boy asked.

“The stairs are too boring,” Alto replied, running forward and leaping off the edge.

The young servant boy looked down and prayed to the Goddess that the prince survived.

_I don’t want to be hanged!_

 

* * *

 

The wind whipped his hair about as he fell at breakneck speed. The prince focused his pool of Mana into gale force winds, forcing his body to slow down. Not as safe as performing an anti-velocity spell, but far more exciting. In a matter of moments he had reached the comfort of solid ground.

He noticed that he had landed in the hedge maze in the castle gardens.

_This is good, no one can see me open the passageway._

He ran his hand over a section of the castle wall, feeling for a specific brick. The brick had engraved into it a small sigil, when pushed it sunk into the wall until a small click could be heard. The wall of blocks moved and a passageway revealed itself, into which the prince entered.

Emerging from a painting that hung in a hallway that was fortunately empty, the prince quietly made his way to the castle library. When he entered the grand chamber of books he sought out his partner in crime. Slinking from aisle to aisle he eventually found her leaning against a table, book in hand.

Aisha hadn’t noticed that the prince had moved right next to her, so engrossed in the book was she.

“I always found ‘Bandit Love’ to be rather melodramatic and sentimental.”

Aisha shrieked in fright and turned to Alto who smiled roguishly.

“By the Goddess, I think I died of fright!” she exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart.

He closed the gap between them and kissed her soundly, shocking her once more, only in a much more pleasant manner. She returned his affections with fervour gripping the collar and straps of his leather armour. He responded by grasping her waist and pulling her even closer. With reluctance she pulled away, but was still in his embrace, brows touching.

“You in heaven yet?” he asked, huskily.

She moaned pleasantly, much like she did every time she secretly indulged in chocolate.

“I think heaven needs a _shave_ ,” she replied, gently cupping his cheek. Her delicate fingers running across his five–o’clock shadow.

He gave a small chuckle before pecking her forehead and releasing her.

“I would love to, but we have a busy schedule. Best not to waste any more time.”

Alto clapped his hands and in a shower of gold sparks, a large tome appeared and fell into his waiting hands. Big as his chest and about as thick. Yet his hands didn’t show any strain from its weight. Surprisingly he held and opened it in the middle as if it were made of feathers and not parchment.

“You know I’ve been reading a bit about magic,” Aisha started. “And while it is possible, what you just did is unachievable to everyone but you.”

Alto’s lop-sided smile and raised eyebrow made her heart excited. It was the way he’d _look_ at her, _only_ at her with those abyss-black eyes that made her feel that there was something more to him. Something more than a prince, more than just a man, as if he was trying to make her guess who he truly was.

“The Grand Council of Magi has long since asked about it, and I have obviously refused to answer them,” he replied, still grinning. “Oh, how it truly _infuriates_ them!”

She shook his head at his childishness.

_How he survived this far I will never know._

Looking down at the book she noticed a set of diagrams depicting what was a giant set of rings. It resembled planetary rings with each individual ring smaller than the outside one.

“What do you know about the Cross Gates?” Alto asked.

Aisha looked confused for a moment, pondering over the question.

“I’ve only heard the name, but I know nothing about them.”

His face was one of solemnity informing her that whatever the Cross Gates are is of importance.

“The reason not many have heard about them is because all information regarding them was destroyed many centuries ago,” the prince began in a quiet voice. “What is known is passed down from scholar to scholar through oral traditions. No one will ever write such information down as I have.”

Aisha was perplexed, her brows furrowed in thought.

“Why would none write it down, and why would you risk it?”

“There was once a group of revolutionaries that travelled the realms and destroyed all information on the Cross Gates, even killing those who knew anything about them. Since then, none ever dare to write it down fearing they would be destroyed. I dare to risk it because unlike others I have the means to safeguard such knowledge.”

His hand motioned to the tome on the table beside them.

“This tome in no ordinary collection of papers, it has a mind of its own.”

Aisha blinked in surprise, and even greater confusion.

“A mind of its own?”

Alto patted one of the pages and the designs seemed to fade away from sight, as if the ink was sucked into the parchment completely. Then the ink reappeared with words that shocked her.

Greetings Milady, I am Grimoire.

“It’s sentient?” Aisha exclaimed, her eyes wides as saucers.

Indeed I am. Please call me Grim.

“Umm… Pleased to make your acquaintance Grim,” she said awkwardly, unbelieving that she was conversing with a book of all things.

I’m so glad we get to finally meet, Master has told me so much about you!

Aisha’s brow rose before smiling.

“Really now, I wonder what he says?”

“Maybe later, Grim,” Alto interrupted, with a nervous chuckle. “When we actually have the time.”

She knew he was embarrassed and sought to find out the truth later.

“Grim can easily hide the information and as an added bonus I can hide him within me.”

She nodded. “A very safe method, I can’t imagine many ways one can steal or extract the information, or destroy it.”

The prince nodded in agreement, before sealing Grim back into himself.

“Now, the reason the Cross Gates are so important is that they are ancient arcane devices that enable one to traverse to other worlds.”

“What!?” Aisha cried aloud, her voice travelling through the library.

“That was how the Millennium War ended, but that’s a tale for another time,” Alto continued. “I have done some research and I believe that a functional Cross Gate is right here.”

She waved her arms, motioning around them. “Here, in the library?”

“Beneath the library to be exact, _very_ far down,” the prince elaborated.

Alto grasped her hand and leads her to the centre of the library. A pillar of dark green marble was all that upheld the ceiling.

She placed a hand on the pillar; its surface was cool to the touch.

“What's so special about this pillar?”

“Sometimes the best place to hide something is in plain sight. No one would ever suspect this pillar to be the entrance to the gate,” Alto explained.

Placing his hand on the column he whispered a single word.

“Aperio (Reveal).”

Seconds went by and it seemed as if the attempt had failed, but then cracks began to appear on the pillar. They seemed uniformed and the marble began to peel away like sheets of paper. Layer after layer went by before the column vanished. In its place was a tunnel leading down into darkness.

Alto conjured a small stone in his hand and tossed it down. Nearly a minute passed by, but no sound was heard.

_Damn, this thing really is bottomless._

“Clearly it's a long way down to the gate. There seems to be no way of reaching the bottom,” Aisha stated with a tone of annoyance. “What language was that spell? It sounds familiar.”

Alto took a deep breath. Mana swirled the area in hair-width strings unseen to normal eyes.

“It's a very old dialect, the name is Latin. It was one of the languages that our own was derived from,” he answered. “As for how to reach the bottom fast, I believe there is a simple solution.”

“And the solution is?”

Alto gave a mischievous smile before replying.

“This.”

He lifted Aisha in a manner much how a newlywed man would carry his wife, before leaping over the edge and falling down.

A moment passed and the pillar reformed itself, leaving no evidence of their presence.

 

* * *

 

Aisha’s screams nearly deafened Alto as they fell down to the gate. He had sent a thread of Mana along with the pebble he threw down before. He could feel the ground closing in fast, and with the entrance closed he was eclipsed in darkness.

Alto gathered Mana around them and prepared to perform parallel spell casting. He began to chant an incantation with as much focus as one can muster when falling to their death.

“Left hand of the Goddess, Grasp.”

Arrays of golden seals flashed around them illuminating the tunnel walls. Each seal was an intricate design of lines, shapes, and symbols.  Bursting from the centre of each seal was gilded chains that latched onto the walls. Unfortunately the chains snapped as soon as they tried to halt their descent, even as new chains burst forth to replace them. While they were slowing down at a constant rate, their velocity was still too fast.

Alto retracted the Mana around him and drew it all into himself, before saying the next incantation.

“Right hand of the Devil, Strength.”

He adjusted his grip pulling Aisha closer to his body as he braced for impact. The energy flowed into his muscles increasing the fibres capability to withstand shock. His bones increased in their density and improved their stress distribution in preparation.

The collision with the ground was hard enough to shatter the stone bricks. Aisha’s screams of terror ceased as she held onto Alto with a vice grip. After opening her eyes, she slowly noticed that she was still alive. The floating seals and chains were still there providing some light.

Alto suddenly released her and collapsed in pain. He yelped and grit his teeth in agony, as the toll for using such spells were exacted from him. His breathing was short and quick, each breath making his body feel acute pain as his chest rose and fell.

“Alto, what’s wrong?” Aisha asked, grabbing his arm.

“Argh!”

“Sorry!” she apologised, dropping the hand swiftly making him groan in pain again.

She moved her hands just above his abdomen and focused her Mana into seeing what damage he had sustained.

“By the Goddess,” she whispered, unable to believe the havoc the spells wrought on his body. “There are very fine breaks in your bones, _every single one_. And your muscles and tendons show a lot of tears.”

“Don’t worry about the bones, just focus on the muscles. That should be enough for me to stand on my feet.”

“But a good knock could break the bone completely,” she cautioned.

“From this point on the way is safe. It’s just a straight path to the gate, nothing to worry about,” he mollified.

Aisha wanted to protest, but she knew that look in his eyes. Foolhardy determination and complete disregard for his own safety. She knew better than to argue with him in this state. She slowly applied her healing techniques to his body, her hands glowing softly. After a few minutes she was done, but pretended to still be healing him, hopefully buying him more time to recover.

Alto slowly rose to his feet with a little help. He conjured a small ball of light before releasing the chains, allowing them to disintegrate. With a soft white glow along the walls of the small room he noticed a passageway leading out.

“Let’s go,” he said, walking gently with Aisha.

The walls of the passage were covered in small growths of vines, each strand a different colour and shade.

_It’s like a rainbow coloured path._

“What are these vines?” Aisha asked, reaching out to touch one.

“Don't touch them!” he shouted. “There not actually plants. It’s pure Mana.”

“What, how?” she questioned, shocked at the startling revelation.

“Within the planet are great veins of Mana that run across the entire world. They appear in different forms. Some as solids like crystals, some as liquids such as the wells found in Azar, and some as gas like the vapour streams in the Frosted Fortress.”

He pointed to the walls around them.

“In this case it’s a mixture of solid and liquid, appearing to take the form of plant vines. If you touch them you’ll overload yourself with Mana, as a healer you should know what happens if that occurs.”

When they reached the end of the passage, a grand chamber greeted them. The chamber was spherical, illuminated by flowers that bloomed from the ceiling. From where they stood a long, thin stone bridge lead towards the central platform.

Alto slowly made his way across the bridge hesitantly. Though the bridge appeared unable to bear much weight, it proved to be sturdy enough to let him cross. He signalled Aisha to follow while he observed his surroundings.

The platform was engraved with runic symbols that he had recalled seeing in places that other Cross Gates resided. Unfortunately those Cross Gates were broken and decayed, nothing but ruins for centuries. He clapped his hands and summoned Grim back into the physical realm.

“Alright Grim, you know what to do,” Alto said, raising the tome into the air.

Ghostly silver copies of the symbols rose from the platform in tendrils of words and sentences, rising into the flower–lit air. The book seemed to suck in the characters in a vortex of scripts. Once it was over the tome had within its pages all the information it had copied from the surroundings. When it was done Grim vanished into Alto in a shower of sparks.

“You know that there’s a good chance that we may never be able to return home.”

The prince’s hands shook with fear and anticipation. With a deep breath he began to channel Mana into himself in preparation for activating the gate. Aisha gently took his hand in hers, giving a comforting squeeze.

“As long as we’re together, everything will be alright.”

“I need you to describe a person for me,” Alto asked.

“What for?”

“The gate requires some sort of target to aim for,” he explained. “I can’t use a place, or landmark, but a person should be alright. Hair and eye colour should be enough for the gate to specifically choose a world and location.”

“Alright,” Aisha said, thinking of an answer. “Blonde hair and blue eyes.”

With renewed confidence and determination, Alto flooded the platform with as much Mana as he could give without exhausting himself.

The platform began the shake, circular cracks ran along the platform before it shattered and great rings of stone revolved around them. With each passing second the rings spun faster and faster before an amalgamation of coloured blurs were all that could be seen. The colours were of such intensity and variety to the point of disorientation. A flash of white light erupted, before they fell into darkness.

 

* * *

 

**AN: Note – Alltariss –** Well, that’s the prologue done. Now I’ll have to work on the rest. When I first started writing this fic I didn’t have any plan or idea mapped out. I just wrote whatever came to mind and posted it. After reading through my work I found that I could make it better than before so I spent a lot of time reading a lot of different books and carefully mapping out the storyline. I found that writing with a plan in mind seems to make things astronomically easier in terms of progression and also the word count as well. The original prologue was around 5000 words while this one is 15000. I used to struggle writing 5k when I first started and now writing 10k+ is easy.

I hope you enjoyed this new beginning, and I would love to get your opinion on it. Write a review or send me a PM, I don’t mind either one.

 

**Glossary – For Japanese words/terms/names used in this fanfic in no particular order.**

**Yondaime Hokage** – This translates to ‘Fourth Fire Shadow’. For those who know a little about numbers in Japanese will notice the use of ‘Yon’ instead of ‘Shi’ for the number 4. This is because ‘Shi’ can also be translated to ‘Death’. Thus it is no longer used very often when referring to the number 4 except in certain cases.

**Hai** – This is commonly translated to ‘Yes’, yet it also has a lot of other meanings based on the context. If one wishes to speak in a meeting it is acceptable to use ‘Hai’ as a way to not only call attention to yourself, but also to show that you have something to say, essentially that you have an opinion. Another example is if a person asked "Where is Naruto?" to find him in some crowded place, Naruto would reply ‘Hai’.

That is because in that context ‘Hai’ means ‘I am here’. ‘Hai’ could also be used for ‘Sorry’ or ‘Pardon?’ or ‘What?’, but in those cases it would be more common to use ‘Gomen[nasai]’, ‘Sumimasen’ , ‘Nani’ respectively. It is also used as a way to show the person speaking to you that you are listening to them and following their words, but the use of ‘Un’ is more commonly used in everyday conversation. Although ‘Un’ can also be used for ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ depending on the way it sounds. In terms of Hiragana/Kanji it can mean ‘Yes’ or ‘Ash [as in the grey colour]’ or ‘Lungs’.

**ANBU** – This translates to ‘Dark Side’ [insert Star Wars pun here]. In all seriousness that is what it means, but it is also an acronym. ‘A.N.B.U’ expands into ‘Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai’ which translates to ‘Special Assassination and Tactical Squad’.

**Kageken** – This translates to ‘Shadow Sword’. This is the combination of the Kanji for ‘Shadow’ and ‘Sword’.

**ShunShin** – This translates to ‘Body Flicker’.

**Shodaime Hokage** – This translates to ‘Founding Fire Shadow’. While often translated to ‘First Fire Shadow’ it isn’t actually correct. Those familiar with Japanese numbers will notice how it uses ‘Sho’ and not ‘Ichi’. This confusion is caused due to the later Hokage that appear, which use ‘Ni’, ‘San’, ‘Yon’, ‘Go’, and so on. The ‘me’ at the end of the word is the equivalent of ‘th’ in English.

**Hiraishin** – This translates to ‘Flying Thunder God’. This most likely is based off Raijin, the Japanese god of lightning and thunder.

**Kiiroi Senko** – This translates to ‘Yellow Flash’.

**Fuinjutsu** – This translates to ‘Seal Technique[s]’.

**Konohagakure** – This translates to ‘Village Hidden in Leaves’, but the full term is ‘Konohagakure no sato’. For the sake of using just one term instead of multiple, and to avoid confusion I simply don’t use the ‘no sato’ part and keep the rest.

**Myōbokuzan** – This translates to ‘Mysterious/Exquisite Tree Mountain’.

**Sandaime Hokage** – This translates to ‘Third Fire Shadow’.

**Kuchiyose** – This translates to ‘Summon’.

**Ninken Butai** – This translates to ‘Ninja Dog Unit’. ‘Butai’ translates to ‘Unit’ or ‘Squad’.

**Bā-san** – This translates to ‘Old Lady’ usually. More will be explained further on.

**Kyūbi** – This translates to ‘Nine Tails’.

**Hakke Kūhekishō** – This translates to ‘Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm’. The ‘Hakke’ is referring to the Bagua or Trigrams.

**Bubun Baika no Jutsu** – This translates to ‘Partial Multi–Size Technique’.

**Baika no Jutsu** – This translates to ‘Multi–Size Technique’.

**Nikudan Sensha** – This translates to ‘Spiked Human Bullet Tank’.

**Jikūkan Kekkai** – This translates to ‘Space–Time Barrier’.

**Enkōō Enma** – This translates to ‘Monkey King Enma’.

**Henge: Kongōnyoi** – This translates to ‘Transfomation: Vajra Nyoi’.

**Ninpō: Onsei Zōfuku** – This translates to ‘Ninja Art: Audio Amplification’.

**Jutsu** – This translates to ‘Technique[s]’.

**Ninjutsu** – This translates to ‘Ninja Technique[s]’.

**Kekkai** – This translates to ‘Barrier’.

**Sharingan** – This translates to ‘Copy Wheel Eye’.

**Suiton** – This translates to ‘Water Release’.

**Hachimon** – This translates to ‘Eight Gates’.

**Kaimon** – This translates to ‘Gate of Opening’.

**Kai** – This translates to ‘Release’. This is quite hard to translate as ‘Kai’ can be written in more than 50 ways, each one having different meanings. In the context of the Narutoverse ‘Kai’ usually means ‘Cancel’, ‘Release’, or ‘Open’.

**Sennin Mōdo** – This translates to ‘Sage Mode’.

**Senjutsu: Rasenrengan** – This translates to ‘Sage Technique: Spiralling Serial Spheres’.

**Shiki Fūjin** – This translates to ‘Dead Demon Consuming Seal’.

**Hakke no Fūin Shiki** – This translates to ‘Eight Trigrams Sealing Style’.

**Shinigami** – This translates to ‘Death God/God of Death’.

**Shishō Fūin** – This translates to ‘Four Symbols Seal’.

**Aperio** – This translates to ‘Reveal’.

 

**Explanations for Japanese culture and certain ideas/concepts that I have used.**

**Yoshi** – This is a very common thing that is heard in manga or anime. When a character says this it is heard as ‘Yosh’. This is due to Japanese pronunciation, the "i" is not really sounded but must exist at the end of the word. In turn, this is due to Japanese lingual rules which dictate that words cannot end in consonants ("n" is the exception). It is an expression of excitement or enthusiasm, equivalent to saying "all right!" or "okay!" in English. An example would be, "Yoshi! Ikuzo!" which means, "All right! Let's go!"

**Jan-Ken-Pon** – This is essentially Rock, Paper, Scissors Japanese style. In the Japanese version both players chant “Janken Pon” to begin with at which they reveal their choice. If it is a tie then both players say “Aiko Desho” and immediately play again and again until a winner is determined.

**Kanji** – Kanji means Chinese letter or character. The script was invented by the Chinese and adopted by the Japanese around the middle of the 6th century AD. Kanji are ideographs meaning that the whole character conveys a meaning rather than just a sound (as in the case of hiragana and katakana letters).

**Tomoe** – A tomoe is a Japanese abstract shape, usually used as a necklace, (i.e. a swirl) that resembles a comma or the usual form of magatama. Tomoe are usually seen in a design of three known as ‘mitsudomoe’.

**Haori** – A haori is a jacket worn over kimono. It is never meant to be worn as a top by itself, or crossed over in the front like a kimono. The collar is meant to hang straight down along your chest.

**Vajra Nyoi** – This has two parts which need to be explained. I kept the terms as is instead of completely translating them as it would have sounded weird. A ‘Nyoi’, which can be translated as priest's staff but literally means ‘as one (a person) wishes’, is an auspicious decorative object associated with Chinese Buddhist rituals. It was made from bone or jade, with a head shaped either as a cloud or as a lingzhi mushroom and had a slightly curved handle, but the production and use of these objects declined after the Tang Dynasty. Vajra, which is ‘Kongō’ in Japanese, is a mythical material that is said to be able to cut through any substance, but it itself, cannot be cut.

**Tou-san (or other familial terms)** – This was kept in and untranslated for a variety of reasons.  In the English language we simply refer to someone depending on their direct relationship to you, but in most cases we usually call someone by their name. For example in English we would call our parents ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’, but would rarely call our siblings ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’. And for people unfamiliar to us we would refer to them as ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’ or ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’. In Japan and even other places it is common to refer to someone using specific terms to show your ‘exact’ relationship with the person.

Personally, as a person of Indian/Hindu background I would usually refer to someone as ‘Uncle’ or ‘Aunty’ even if they’re not actually related to me in any way. It is just a term used to give respect to my elders. If I wanted to refer to someone younger to me then I would use a specific term to do so. In Japan it is common to refer to someone using very specific terminology to elaborate on what your exact relationship is with a person. This of course has changed over time and is not strictly enforced in the modern times, but it is still widely used and adhered to.

In Japan it is common to refer to sibling and parents and relatives with their specific term. In addition to the normal terms is the addition of suffixes. The common suffixes that we see in manga and anime are ‘-san’, ‘-kun’, ‘-chan’, ‘-sama’, ‘-dono’. These represent an added complexity to the already detailed terminology that is used.

The use of ‘-san’ is usually translated to mean ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’ in English, but it not always so. It is mainly used when referring to someone who you are not so familiar or friendly with and/or the person has not given you permission to call them using a more familiar term. The latter case is when you are on a clan name basis with the person. When referring to someone unfamiliar it is expected to call them using their clan name and not their first name unless given permission.

The use of ‘-kun’ is used for males to show a sense of familiarity and friendship and in some cases romantic interest. It isn’t used for females as they have their own suffix ‘-chan’. The ‘-chan’ suffix is primarily used for females in the same way as ‘-kun’ is for males, but can also be used for young children regardless of gender.

The use of ‘-sama’ is a term used for people who you show respect for. In the context of Naruto it is used to refer to someone of a high rank or status. When used to refer to oneself it is considered a show of extreme arrogance or self-effacing irony.

The use of ‘-dono’ roughly means "lord" or "master". It does not equate noble status; rather it is a term akin to "milord".


	2. Chapter 1 - The Aftermath

AN: Note – Alltariss – Here is the next instalment of the fic. I will warn you that this fic doesn’t just jump into the main canon storyline like most other fics. There’s a lot of politics and plots involved and they need proper foundations before they can be revealed. The backbone of this fiic is the level of realism and common-sense. The suspension of disbelief can fix most issues, but there are limits to what one can believe.

I’ve read quite a few fics where they try to do the ‘Inception’ (AKA plots within plots) tactic but fail. This is mostly due to not laying the foundations for that sort of level of intricacy. Each character needs to be fleshed out and have the proper motivations that lead them into those plots. The worst kind of ‘Inception’ attempts use flashbacks to a morbid degree. Using flashbacks isn’t a bad thing, but when it’s not done well it leaves me as a reader wondering why they even bothered with it in the first place.

Now that’s all over with, continue on for the story.

* * *

 

**Chapter 1**

**The Aftermath**

* * *

 

 

The fluted walls of the room were decorated with a repeating triskelion pattern. An imagery that was made by the equally repeating pattern of tomoe’s in sets of three. The entire left side of the wall was covered by shelves of books, each volume decorated beautifully with gold letter engravings. Opposite was the fireplace which was currently providing the room with warmth of both temperature and lighting. Around the fire were a set of six chairs placed in a semicircle with equal distance between them.

“So what are your thoughts regarding this issue?” Lucifer asked his guests.

He had gathered them all together for the purpose of forging an alliance. He had their friendship, but an alliance was an official pact that would ensure that he would have backup no matter what.

_Alto needs this. He survived with minimal assistance for now, but this is when the game really begins. No restarts or extra lives to be found here. If he dies he’ll have to pay the price._

“How do we know that the man’s master isn’t just saying he’ll conquer our realms as a figure of speech? He could simply want to assert himself as a conqueror of gods by making himself more powerful than us in the minds of the populace.”

He turned to the woman and quickly replied. “Quite simple milady, I’ve met his master and he’s a god just like us.”

She paused and appeared in thought for a moment. Carefully considering his words, as in her opinion they held weight. In the end she nodded and waited for the others to answer the Devil’s question.

Lucifer admired her constant questioning and evaluation of him. It proved to him that she took him seriously as not just an equal in terms of gods, but also as a friend and confidant.

_Not to mention that she’s easy on the eyes. That’s always a plus in my book!_

She was slim, but her hips were round and her legs had somewhat of a soft line to them. There was something voluptuous about her, like if she let herself go she would get fat. Her face clearly showed her Indian heritage as did her coffee skin, with a nose that broke high which went with the way she held herself. Her eyes were big, black, but levelled out straight which made them have a kind of sleepy, impudent look to them. Her lips were full and lipstick applied to them.

“Keep looking at me like that and Shiva will get pissed again,” she said, adjusting the sari* she wore.

Lucifer laughed. “Like he did when I painted him red? Come on Kali*, watching him rage so easily is _greatly_ amusing.”

Kali shook her head and sighed.

_How you survived his wrath I’ll never know._

“If he is a god like us then we _can’t_ move against him simply because he proclaims to one day overthrow us,” said the man next to Kali.

He was heavy built, something that could easily be seen as he was apparently wearing a shirt that was one size small. His chiselled face bore a grim expression. The wavy locks of his beard were outclassed by his medusa–like hair, with wild and thick locks. The charcoal colour of his curls made his milk-white skin seem even lighter.

“Until he actively makes a move against us we can’t do much. He has to strike the _first blow_.”

Kali nodded in agreement. “Hades* is right. The law is clear when it comes to such things.”

“Unless we _trick_ him into striking first,” Loki* said, sitting next to the empty sixth seat.

Loki was trim figured, wearing a dark grey tailor-made suit. Sharp-featured, light-complexioned, and clean-shaven as always, his lips wore a smirk of dark mischief. He looked to the others whilst casually playing with a small strand of his hair which was slicked back.

“I’d prefer if we didn’t have to kill some no-name god who probably has only a handful of patrons.”

Loki pouted good-naturedly. “Why must you always ruin my fun, Apep?*”

Loki was as usual the laidback sort that preferred to delegate tasks to those under his influence. This includes a multitude of champions under his authority that each cause mischief with his blessing.

“Because Lucifer refuses to reign in your immaturity, _even worse_ , he joins you on your mischief making.”

Apep was of a sinewy build that was hidden beneath his loose hoodie. Clean-cut face with a five-o’clock shadow that blended with his copper skin, he seemed to be a mixture of youth and ruggedness.

He turned to Lucifer. “You showed us this particular memory and have spoken at length of this god’s motives and plans, but we can’t actively conspire against him without proof.”

Lucifer nodded in agreement. “I understand your reasoning, and I agree with you.”

All his guests turned to him with wide eyes.

“But you’ve spent all this time trying to convince us to declare war,” Kali said.

“I had to make sure that you all were at least considering the idea and realised its significance,” Lucifer replied. “I’m very well aware of our own laws when it comes to declaring war, which is why I’ll be showing you the proof required tonight.”

Kali leaned forward in anticipation. “So I’ll finally get to know who our mysterious guest is.” She gestured to the empty seat.

“Yes, I’ve been wondering about that myself,” Hades said.

Lucifer chuckled. “I’m surprised you’d say that considering you know him _very_ well.”

“Hades, how could you? You’ve been in cahoots with Lucy this entire time!” Loki exclaimed.

Hades turned to the Norse god in comical confusion. “Huh? What, I don’t who he’s talking about.”

“Let me give you a hint,” Lucifer said, with a devilish smirk. “Time.”

All of the gods thought about his words. Each one wondering who it could be, but only Hades figured it out. His face paled as snow as he realised _exactly_ who the Devil was referring to.

“Fuck me,” Hades moaned, his head in his hands.

“I believe that’s Persephone’s* job.”

They all turned to see the mystery guest.

He had a robust body which was surprising since he looked quite old. Weathered and rough faced, his grey hair was mostly straight with only a few broad curls.

Lucifer rose to greet him and the two shook hands. “It is good to see you again, Cronus*.”

Hades simply sat with his head in his hands, unable to believe what was occurring.

“Cronus? Isn’t he supposed to be locked away?” Kali questioned, looking to Hades.

“Ha! My sons are strong, but they’re _billions_ of years away from outsmarting me.”

Cronus took his seat next to Loki. His face seemed to have a permanent smile as he observed his son’s embarrassment. Loki was laughing aloud at Hades, Apep was shaking his head at this latest debacle, and Kali was as usual simply curious.

“How long were you out of your prison?” Kali asked.

Cronus stroked his beard in thought for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure. I never knew how time flowed in Tatarus, but I know it wasn’t very long. I’ve been out for quite a while.”

He looked to Hades and smirked. “I do know for sure that Hades was _well aware_ of my escape.”

Loki laughed outrageously, banging the arms of his chair before attempting to speak. “By the All-Father! You _never_ told your brothers about his escape? How have you kept this hidden all this time?”

Lucifer was the one to answer that question. “He couldn’t because then they’d think that Tatarus is an ineffective place to keep the damned. And Zeus is known to be unforgiving when handing out punishments.”

Hades lifted his head and slammed his palms on the arms of his chair. “I had no choice! I told them that Tatarus couldn’t hold our father, but would they listen? _No_!”

He waved his arms in a grandiose gesture. “I’m the King of Olympus, I can _never_ be wrong! I’m the Lord of all Waters, none is _greater_ than I!”

He sank back down further into his chair and heaved a great sigh. “I knew that father would break out eventually. Mother told us as such, but since when has _either_ of my brothers ever listened to reason?”

Cronus gave a sympathetic look towards his son. “To be honest it wasn’t your fault that Tatarus couldn’t hold me. As far as I know it’s a great place to keep the damned, but not so good for those who stand on equal grounds to gods.”

Apep clapped his hands, gathering the attention of everyone. “If we can get back to the issue at present that would probably be best.”

Lucifer nodded and turned to Cronus. “I spoke at length about our problem and Cronus here has the proof needed to appease the laws.”

The room quieted as they all waited for the answers they sought for. The titan of time leaned forward to continue where Lucifer left off.

“The god’s name is Chaos, and I know that it sounds as if he’s just like any other low level cult-born god. Except that he has somehow got his hands on the Words.”

The group of gods each reeled back in shock. Loki looked serious as opposed to his usual jovial self. The Norse trickster immediately responded.

“If that’s the case then we should eliminate him. It’s one thing for a popular god to gain power, and _then_ obtain the Words. In Lucifer’s case he had plenty of power, but had to be accepted into the higher echelons of the hierarchy before he could obtain the _right_ to wield Words. It’s not a good thing if they’re only an obscure god who can’t handle the power of the Words.”

“Exactly,” Apep agreed. “If a person who isn’t strong enough to wield the Words then he could wipe out entire universes at a time.”

Cronus clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention. He looked at each one of them as if to ascertain their capabilities.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” he said. “I have observed him personally and have come to the conclusion that he intends to destroy the True-Verse.”

“Is he _insane_?!” Hades exclaimed. “Doing that would wipe out all of the universes. It would kill us all!”

“We should inform the rest of the hierarchy. _Surely_ they would assist us in destroying him.”

Kali elicited a negative response from Lucifer.

“They won’t do anything,” he replied through gritted teeth. “They’ll never accept the words of Cronus, and you can be sure that Zeus will care more about his father being free than a god trying to kill us all.”

Kali crossed her arms in frustration and huffed. “Why wouldn’t they? This isn’t something that anyone would make a joke about, or worse, cry wolf.”

“It’s because Chaos has covered all his tracks hasn’t he?”

Everyone looked to Apep. He was speaking directly to Cronus who looked anywhere except at them.

“Exactly how do you know for _sure_ that this Chaos guy is going to attack the True-Verse?”

The titan leaned back and sighed tiredly. “I tricked him into thinking I was an ally.”

Loki snapped his fingers and had an expression of realisation.

“Of course! As a person who escaped Tatarus and was sent there by his own children, Chaos would think you’d do anything to get revenge.”

Then the Norse god had a look of bewilderment.

“Although I’m surprised that Chaos would be stupid enough to actually believe that you would assist him in a plan that would result in your own death.”

Cronus gave a derisive snort. “If there’s one thing I know from watching him, it’s that he lacks any normal methods of thinking. He’s _insane_ , but that simply means he won’t conform to normal behaviour patterns.”

Lucifer nodded. “And because of that he tends to make mistakes, and those mistakes are what we can use to our advantage.”

“How so?” Kali asked.

Lucifer opened his mouth to answer but Cronus beat him to it.

“He tried to use the Words but nearly ended up killing himself so he isn’t eager to try it again. Instead he’s causing chaos by using champions to wreck world after world, in verse after verse.”

“So essentially living up to his name?” Apep asked.

“Pretty much,” Cronus replied.

Lucifer cleared his throat, gathering their attention. “Which is why I’ve chosen a champion to attack his own agents in various worlds. My champion will need help not in the form of other champions, but rather support from all of you, to help guide him on his quest.”

All of the gods were surprised by this startling news. It was well known amongst them that Lucifer preferred to do things personally. Proof of this was his ‘Faustian Bargains’ that he makes with mortals for amusement. This was the first instance that Lucifer had ever chosen a champion.

“And who exactly is this lucky individual whom you’ve selected?” Kali asked with great enthusiasm.

_He actually decided to get a champion. After all these years of Loki and I pestering him to find one._

“His name is Alltariss although he prefers to be called Alto,” Lucifer answered, hoping that they wouldn’t ask any more questions.

Unfortunately for the Devil, Kali could sense his apprehension and continued with her line of questioning.

“What exactly makes him so _special_ that you chose him? You’ve always avoided champions like the plague and now you just suddenly decide to get one? I’m not buying it.”

Lucifer licked his lips nervously as he answered. “He was simply one of the demons I created a long while back, nothing really exceptional.”

“Bullshit,” Loki sang mockingly. “You did something didn’t you? Something to make this Alto fellow more to your liking.”

Loki’s question made him gulp audibly.

“You may as well come clean, Lucifer. Hiding the truth will only make things worse,” Cronus suggested.

Lucifer clenched his hands into fists, his eyes focused on the floor.

“Fine,” he relented. “I shared my blood with the boy.”

The following silence was thunderously loud to him. He felt as if time suddenly stretched itself, making each second elongate into years.

Apep was the first to find their voice. “You…actually did that? It would make the boy connected to you, even after death until you decide to take your blood back.”

“I know that this crisis is more important than anything we’ve faced before, but to share blood is a bond that one makes after much consideration is taken.” Kali whispered.

She was worried for Lucifer. She knew very well how he acts in both public and private. Lucifer was the type of person who would pursue a goal with an unshakable faith in himself, and would go to lengths others would shy away from. To share blood with a mortal is to create a bond much alike the one shared between a god and their children. Specifically the bond between a demigod and the god parent, their lives would be entwined for as long as the bond held.

“The bond has had some unforseen effects on Alto,” Lucifer continued, tentatively. “He looks like me and shares some of the same qualities.”

“That isn’t supposed to happen,” Loki said, looking perplexed. “The bond only establishes a connection on a spiritual level; it doesn’t change anything else other than the strength of the bonded soul. The body remains untouched by the connection.”

Lucifer nodded in agreement. “I suspect it’s because of the previous connection that Alto and I share.”

Hades mumbled to himself before speaking his theory to the group.

“The bond between the creator and created is what caused the changes. The boy was already one of your creations. There was already a bond between the two of you and the sharing of blood not only created a new bond, but also amplified the pre-existing bond.”

“A sound explanation until further investigation,” Kali replied. “This is something that could alter the laws regarding champions.”

“We can discuss the effects of the bond later,” Cronus stated. “Right now we need to know if everyone is in agreement that Chaos has to be dealt with.”

The titan waved his hand and an image of a planet appeared before them. The globe was mostly blue with large continents spread around the world. It was clear from the shape of the land masses that it was not Earth.

“Chaos will strike at this world next,” he explained. “This world doesn’t appear to be any different from countless other worlds that we as gods create.”

His tone and visage suddenly became serious as the image of the planet changed into a world that was nothing but scorched earth.

“What Chaos is seeking is a set of artefacts called the Cards of Fate and the Cards of Destiny.”

Each of them looked confused; turning to each other hoping one of them knew what the artefacts were.

“I can assume none of you have heard of such things, which is normal judging by the look on your faces.”

The image shifted and dispersed into nothingness with a wave of his hand as he continued his explanation.

“What I’m about to tell you is a secret that you must _never_ reveal to anyone without the consent of us all,” he said, stressing its importance. “The artefacts aren’t something that was created by any god or goddess that we know of or recorded in the archives. They’re objects that are apparently older then the True-Verse.”

Kali laughed derisively. “An impossibility! There was no mass before the True-Verse, therefore such a thing couldn’t be possible. Even the gods of time including _you_ have confirmed such.”

Cronus nodded in agreement. “I know that,” he conceded. “But these artefacts contradict that theory.”

“How can you be so _sure_?” Kali questioned. “The only reason anyone would believe such a thing is if… is if…”

Cronus smiled. “Is if they had one of the artefacts.”

“Where is it?” Apep asked, leaning forward with a slightly eager disposition.

“I have implanted it within the boy, Alto,” Cronus replied. “The boy can use the artefact as a weapon against any agents that Chaos sends against him.”

“Exactly what power do the artefacts give to the person that wields them?” Loki asked. “Judging by the names I can assume that they enable one to mess around with time in some capacity.”

Cronus shook his head. “I honestly have no idea, that’s why I implanted them in the boy to begin with. I hope to observe him and see what they do, the last thing I want is to mess with something that could cause massive damage.”

The Norse god nodded in agreement and looked to Lucifer who was looking rather peaked.

“Are you alright Lucy?” he asked.

“I’m just worried about Alto. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, but…”

Lucifer didn’t know what to say. Or think for that matter. He had met with Cronus on several occasions regarding Chaos, but even with all the titan’s assurances that things would work out he couldn’t help but worry.

“Ah yes,” Loki said, knowingly. “I’d forgotten what it felt like when you first get a champion. You feel so attached to them.”

He smiled at him reassuringly. “Relax, it’s normal to feel the way you do.”

“So what is this world that the boy is going to?” Apep asked.

Cronus adjusted himself in his chair taking a more relaxed posture.

“It’s a strange world. I’ve never quite seen one like it,” he started. “It’s a world that has a blend of old and new. I’m not sure who created it, but I think it’s a naturally generated world.”

“Really?” Hades exclaimed. “Those are not common, but neither rare. And you’re sure the artefacts are in that world?”

His father nodded. “I’m certain of it. I believe that these artefacts are all located on natural generated worlds. The pieces that I found were located only on those types of worlds.”

“Pieces?” Kali asked. “Exactly how many pieces of these artefacts are there?”

Cronus shrugged his shoulders in response. “Unknown, but we can’t afford to let Chaos get his hands on them. No matter the cost.”

* * *

 

 

When the first rays of dawn stretched from the horizon, the village and all who lived within felt great relief, for they had survived the night. Sarutobi stood atop the Hokage Mountain gazing down at the destruction that covered the village. From the epicentre of where the masked man summoned the Kyūbi was a conical crater that extended all the way to the base of the mountain. The only thing left to be seen was the broken water pipes that were still gushing water. There were buildings that collapsed due to having their load bearing walls damaged beyond repair. A lot of the buildings that were closer to the beast were completely smashed to pieces by its hands or tails. The rest of the buildings suffered fire damage, some minor and can be restored in time, others were not so lucky and had burnt to the ground.

The aged warrior sensed someone behind him and turned around swiftly.

“Relax Sarutobi-sensei, it’s only me.”

He relaxed as he was greeted by his student, Jiraiya.

“The walls are going to need to be repaired soon and we _need_ them to be manned.”

Sarutobi didn’t respond with words, he simply turned around to look over the village once more.

_I doubt we have the numbers to even do so…_

“Hideo-sama has the civilians still staying in the bunkers. We would usually send them out so they could retrieve any valuables, but…”

Jiraiya let out a sigh of exhaustion. He had been working round the clock organising whatever forces were left. Danzo and Ishikawa were assisting him, but it wasn’t easy.

“The ANBU forces need to recover after using most of their Chakra getting as many people to safety. And even if they were ready to continue their duties we still couldn’t let them out due to the quarantine.”

Sarutobi’s brow creased in thought. “Quarantine?”

_After dealing with that damnable beast we now have a fucking plague?_

Jiraiya nodded. “Yeah, Hideo-sama issued it a few hours ago. Since then we’ve been making sure no one leaves the bunkers.”

The old man looked carefully at the village; he took note that the only people in the village were military.

“Exactly what caused the quarantine to be issued? Airborne virus? Infected food or water?”

_Where’s Tsunade when we need her?_

His student shook his head. “Nothing like that, it’s the result of the Kyūbi’s attack.”

“Where it exhaled the bubble of its Chakra?” Sarutobi asked.

_I’ve never heard of such a thing. Tobirama-sensei never mentioned such a technique._

“Yes,” Jiraiya replied. “Most of it either combusted and started fires or it infected anyone who came in contact.”

A look of confusion crossed Sarutobi’s face. “Then how are you here and not in the hospital?”

_Because if I remember correctly you jumped right towards it. You. Bloody. Idiot._

“That’s the strange thing, it only affects those with low Chakra Reserves. Anyone else is just fine.”

“Ah,” the old Hokage replied with a look of relief. “In that case we can let those rested and ready to roam the village and secure it.”

_You’re lucky I still need you or I would smack you around from dawn til dusk._

Jiraiya nodded and was about to say something but was interrupted by a messenger bird landing on the shoulder of his teacher. Sarutobi took the scroll off its back and quickly read its contents. Jiraiya watched as his teacher’s face grew grim with each passing second.

“Danzō has called for a meeting in the office,” he informed Jiraiya, whilst burning the scroll with a pulse of Chakra.

“Let’s go then.”

Without a second thought they vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

 

 

The bunkers were more than just a cave within the Hokage Mountain. It was a unique part of the village and a wonder of the environment. The part of the mountain that was seen from the outside where the faces of the Hokages were carved from was the only part of the structure that was solid. The rest of the mountain was actually underground. Beneath the earth was a series of tunnels that lead to a massive cavern.

The immense cavity was discovered long before the village was born and was one of the main reasons that the village was built in such a location. The floor was uneven and any places that were flat were spaced away from each other and at varying depths and levels. It was due to the skill of Senju Hashirama that the place was now useable as an emergency evacuation area.

With his proficiency in Doton (Earth Release) he flattened the floor and shifted the stone until they were all at the same level. The result was a single cavern that could hold several thousands of people. This was repeated as they discovered three more caves of almost the same capacity. The four caves were then designated for different purposes.

The first cave was the main method of getting in and out of the bunkers. Therefore it was repurposed to have a variety of defensive structures that ninja could use to repel any invaders that attempt to get through. There were also small cabins that provided sleeping areas for the ninja to rest and recover allowing them to rotate shifts with those who stand guard.

The second was connected to the first with a tunnel going deeper into the ground. It served as the medical facility in case the hospital was destroyed or taken over by invaders. The facility didn’t look anything like a cave as it had undergone many constructions to transform it into a near replica of the hospital in the village.

The third was even deeper into the earth which housed all the evacuated civilians. The cave was repurposed into a multi-story complex to expand the number of people the cave could hold. The fourth and final cave was an underground reservoir of water which was used to supply the inhabitants.

At the moment the caves were overpopulated as it was never designed to hold the number of people that the village currently had. It was originally meant for the population of Konoha when it was first founded.

“What’s going on?”

“Why can’t we go home?”

“Isn’t the Kyūbi gone now?”

The director of the Konoha hospital closed his eyes and breathed deeply, hoping to relax his tensed body. He motioned for the shinobi next to him to pass the microphone over. Wetting his lips he prepared to speak to masses.

“Silence,” he called out, his voice reverberating throughout the area and amplified by the sound system.

“I know that you are scared, tired, hungry, and eager to return to your homes, but that cannot happen at this point in time.”

He could hear murmurs of discontent rising in volume.

“There is a plague that has covered the entirety of the village and as such no one is allowed to go out,” he continued, hoping to cut off another round of shouting. “Until I can create a cure I’m afraid that nobody will be able to leave.”

There were a series of panicked cries, each voice asking about the plague.

“The plague is very dangerous,” he stated. “The symptoms are an increased desire to commit violence against others or to one’s self. If you see anyone like that please inform the nearest ninja and the person will be taken to the medical area.”

He turned off the device and made his way back to the medical facility in the upper cave, leaving the cacophony of shouts behind him.

_Sometimes… I really fucking hate my job._

* * *

 

 

A group of children huddled together in a cramped room with only a few blankets to keep them warm. The younger ones were still crying, whilst the elder kids talked among themselves.

“What the hell was that thing?”

“That giant fox thing had nine tails, _nine tails_.”

“I remember hearing about giant beasts with numerous tails.”

“Yeah… What’d they called them, Bijū?”

“I heard that the more tails they have, the stronger they are.”

“How many of those Bijū are there?”

“Nine, I think. The highest is nine tails.”

“I heard that the Yondaime killed it.”

“ _Really?_ ”

“Yeah, with some crazy ninja skills.”

“He’s dead you know.”

“What, how?”

“He died after he killed the thing.”

“Then whose gonna be the Hokage now?”

“You reckon it’ll be Sarutobi again?”

“No way! He’s _way_ too old to be Hokage, right?”

“I don’t know anyone else who could take the title.”

“Who knows what’s gonna happen. Those ninja guys are always weird.

* * *

 

 

A group of civilians clustered together into a single room. Each one was an affluent member of the village with multiple fingers in a variety of businesses and projects.

“This is a fucking disaster.”

“And with a plague to deal with as well. It’s a sign from the gods.”

“What I want to know is how that thing suddenly appeared in the middle of the village.”

Each of them nodded and murmured their individual theories, but couldn’t decide who was the most plausible.

“I heard one of ninja say that this wasn’t an attack from a foreign country. He clearly said that this was a domestic issue.”

“So that means we have a traitor in the village.”

“Seems so, although how would a person capable of unleashing that thing go unnoticed is beyond my understanding.”

“Exactly, someone must have had the guy under some sort of surveillance right?”

“That wouldn’t make sense. We have the Yamanaka clan for a reason.”

“He’s right; they could have had the guy’s mind scanned for whatever information they were hiding.”

“Well whatever happened, _happened_. All we can do now is hope the Daimyo will provide support.”

“He will, he’s always given us aid when we needed it. Just look back at the wars we’ve had.”

“Let’s hope that still stands true.”

* * *

 

 

The wounded and the sick gathered near the tunnel entrance of the medical facility. Their families and friends begged passage through, but were being denied.

“Please, remain calm,” a Jōnin shinobi called out. “We know you need help but we need to wait for the medics to give us the signal.”

“Why can’t we just go?” cried out a woman who held her bleeding husband’s hand.

“We have limited space and even less supplies,” he responded. “They can only take people in if they have the room to do so. Overcrowding the hospital would lead to another outbreak.”

The woman was still distressed, but held herself from saying any more.

The shinobi on duty were unnerved by the sheer number of sick and wounded as a result of the plague and attack. During the wars it was common to see groups of ninja in a medic’s tent, but while the severity of the sight was not unfamiliar the quantity certainly was.

_I hope this shit gets sorted out soon, otherwise we’ll have a riot on our hands._

* * *

 

 

“Hold him down dammit!” Hideo shouted to the three nurses beside him.

The patient convulsed violently as his body underwent the rigors of forced accelerated healing. The process was not a pleasant one. The cuts along his body were sutured, but still bled as each slice was fresh. They had to exorcise entire chunks of his flesh before the necrosis could set in and spread.

After a tense few minutes the patient collapsed and the heart monitor gave a dull monotone.

“Get me the salt shot!” he commanded urgently.

One of the nurses rushed to the tray nearby and returned with a large syringe. The type that would make little children cry, the thicker than normal needle and gleaming point certainly reinforced such an image.

With a quick glance and shake the doctor squeezed a small amount to ensure not bubbles were present. Without a single moment’s hesitation he plunged the syringe into the patient’s heart to the hilt. The solution flooded the valves of the heart and dispersed itself throughout the body.

“Keep it pumping,” he directed to one of his aids.

She placed her palms over the flat-lined heart and pressed repetitively to simulate his heartbeat. The doctor placed a hand over the patient’s forehead and attempted to kick-start his cognitive functions.

A minute passed, then another, and another. The monitor still gave the monotone sound of death.

“Sir.”

He ignored the call from his aid and continued to repeat the process.

“Sir, it’s too late. He’s gone.”

Hideo slowly stopped his Chakra flow as he took in the situation.

_Another one dead, because I failed._

He withdrew his hand and checked his watch.

“Time of death, six-forty-seven AM.”

He turned away from the now dead man as his aids recorded the time and placed a cloth over the body. In a rare burst of anger he struck the wall next to him. The past few hours had seen him going through one dead person after another, each one unable to survive any treatment given no matter what methods they use.

Hideo started walking towards the next room and was greeted halfway by a pair of Hyūga clan members. One looked healthy and normal as far as the doctor could ascertain with a look, but the other was pale and was struggling to breath. Each breath seemed to be a laborious task.

“Please,” the Hyūga begged. “His Keirakukei(Meridian System) is shutting down.”

His brow creased in confusion.

_Chakra exhaustion simply knocks people out, but it doesn’t shut down the Keirakukei. Quite the opposite, it opens them more than before allowing for expansion._

He motioned for them to follow him until they found a sterile room for use. After laying the sick clansman down on a bed, Hideo performed a basic scan of his body.

“I get the same feel from the other patients. No doubt he’s infected with the plague.”

The Hyūga’s eyes widened in shock. “But he hasn’t been feeling violent or has contracted any form of necrosis!”

The doctor was puzzled over the information. Every patient so far had been through a violent episode before the necrosis set in, yet this single patient wasn’t violent but had not started losing flesh. He couldn’t make head or tails of this plague.

“Look at his Keirakukei and tell me exactly what’s happening,” he ordered.

Immediately the clansman activated his bloodline. A series of veins bulged against his skin around his pale-coloured eyes. The Byakugan (White Eye).

“I can see traces of a foreign Chakra inside him that’s eating away at his own reserves. The Chakra is slowly reaching the Tenketsu(Pressure Points) around his heart.”

Hideo racked his brain for any information regarding the situation. He was accustomed to normal diseases and infections.

Medical knowledge wasn’t the same as it was before the Advent of the Rikudo Sennin. In those ancient times the majority of medicine was based on knowledge of plants that had certain qualities. Chakra-based techniques enabled doctors around the nation to save more lives than before, but it came at a cost. Not many non-ninja doctors had the body or knowledge to learn how to use their Chakra. Thus they still had to rely on techniques that were either out-dated or simply not as effective as the Chakra-based ones.

“What is his Chakra doing in response to the foreign presence?” Hideo asked urgently.

“It looks like its ramming itself against it. The foreign Chakra is fading away piece by piece, but not as much as his own Chakra reserves. He’ll run out of Chakra long before it can fully cancel the foreign presence.”

For a moment the doctor stood still, his eyes clouded as he recalled all the other patients he had tried to save. It was clear that there was a pattern, but for some reason he could not grasp it. In a way it was alike a broken machine, the power is there and the gears are all in the right places, except for one. A single small gear was missing, the key to solving this plague and finding the cure.

“The foreign Chakra in his right arm,” the Hyūga said, gazing intently. “It’s escaping the Keirakukei.”

It was at that moment when Hideo noticed a small patch of discolouration on the patient’s forearm. It was the first stage of necrosis; the cells would die and leave black patches of flesh. He suddenly had an epiphany.

_The necrosis is just a side-effect, not the purpose of the plague. No wonder all the others died. We were treating the effects, not the underlying cause that started it all._

He immediately brought his hands over the patient’s heart and altered his Chakra into a blank slate, before pumping it into Keirakukei. The result was almost instantaneous the Hyūga next to him spoke excitedly of how his clansman’s Chakra was quickly defeating the foreign presence. With five minutes of applying his method, Hideo had successfully cured the plague from the man.

“Wait here,” Hideo ordered the Hyūga, before running out of the room. He had found the cure to the plague and wasted no time in informing the others.

* * *

 

 

The devastation left by the Bijū was far beyond the mere physical damage to the environment and to the village. The amount of ninja that was lost was at five hundred and rising with each corpse found among the rubble. Yet nothing could compare to the overwhelming loss of civilian life. The numbers were already looking to exceed two thousand.

Sarutobi Hiruzen collapsed into the Hokage's chair for the first time since his retirement. The reports regarding the situation were painting a very grim picture.

"The life of a ninja is short and death is to be expected," Hiruzen whispered. "But, even so..."

The door of the Hokage's office opened and Danzō appeared bandaged and using a walking stick.

Danzō was a man feared for many reasons. He was all that one would expect a shinobi to be and more. Once a candidate for the title of Hokage he was not a man to be trifled with.

"ANBU and Root have been worked to the bone saving as many lives as possible. I suggest asking the clans to supply _every_ available ninja they have. By day after tomorrow, the village _has to be secure_ so we can resume our duties."

Danzō waited for a reaction. Hiruzen had always been his rival in all things. He wasn't going to let something like this tear him down, he wouldn't let this disaster break Hiruzen or ruin Konoha.

Moving closer to the desk, Sarutobi opened a drawer and pulled out a blank scroll and immediately wrote instructions on it.

"The ANBU once rested and recovered, can take care of internal affairs and village security under Shinichi's command. Can I count on you to take care of matters outside the village?" Hiruzen asked.

Danzo stood straight and tapped his cane on the floor.

"I'll mobilize any Root members I can immediately," he said. "It's good to have you back, Saru (Monkey)."

Hiruzen gave a small chuckle. "It's good to be back, Taka (Hawk)."

Jiraiya who sat just outside the window, smiled for the first time since the events of last night.

* * *

 

 

Ishikawa Shinichi is a Shinobi in every sense of the word. The title he holds is known to all Konoha Shinobi. The Kageken. To those who know him well, he is called by another name entirely. For a man who appears for only a moment before fading away, leaving only corpses in his wake, it seems only fitting that he was known as Rei (Ghost).

He had read through the reports, each one leaving a bad taste in his mouth. The casualties on both sides had him feeling more agitated than usual. He was used to high stress situations, but never before had ever felt so _ill-equipped_.

_There will be plenty of time to clean up this mess. We can leave that to the main forces. What I need right now is information._

He walked through the labyrinthine corridors of ANBU Headquarters. Information was his bread and butter. The lifeblood of his work, most of which revolved around secrets that could cripple entire cities, even the entire nation itself.

"Itachi, Taka, head to Military Police Headquarters and tell them that I don't care if their tired, hungry, thirsty, and terrified to the point that they've already pissed their pants. They _will_ work overtime to restabilise the civilian districts."

Shinichi's voice left no room for discussion. He _is_ the Kageken and his word is _absolute_.

"ANBU or Root are going to have their hands full manning the walls and keeping vigilant watch for any signs of enemy intruders and acts of sabotage. _Make no mistake_ , this is a fucking disaster. We're still weakened and disorganised, which means we have a target painted on our backs. We may have gotten over the last war, but were in no shape to survive another one. Now move!"

The two ANBU operatives vanished before their presence was no longer detected within the building.

He gave a short sigh as he exited onto the open streets. Taking to the rooftops in a leisurely manner, he swiftly and silently made his way to the only area that was mostly untouched in the chaos of the Kyūbi attack.

_If there’s one person who has more secrets than I do, it’s her._

He hoped that she was still alive and kicking. There was no doubt in his mind that she would leave the village as soon as possible considering that it was no longer safe. The Pleasure District would hopefully still be standing and in good shape. If so, then Ishikawa had a chance to convince to stay.

* * *

 

 

 Katsumi crossed her legs in the absently provocative way that only a veteran courtesan could. Some people fidgeted habitually. Katsumi seduced habitually. With a figure most of her girls could only envy. Suzuki Katsumi had been a courtesan of an age. Ishikawa knew of at least a dozen duels that had been fought over her and at least as many lords that had proposed to her, but Katsumi would be chained to no man. She knew too well all the men she knew. All except one.

“I’m not going to leave if that’s what you’re thinking.”

She looked down at her hands which were being attended to by one of her girls. Each nail was being painted with the utmost care.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Ishikawa replied. “The Nine wouldn’t risk your death. You’re too valuable.”

She smiled at him. In that infuriating way that let him know that she knew something he didn’t. It was always a game between them. A game to see who could outplay the other. Katsumi loved it, more than the grandest meal or finest wine.

Ishikawa’s blood chilled in his veins before he realised what she was implying.

_They knew. They knew that Konoha was going to be attacked._

“Why?” he asked as he continuing to pace in the chamber. “What would they hope to gain?”

Katsumi said nothing, preferring to stare down at her painted nails which were receiving another coat. Ishikawa looked closely at her, trying to decipher her actions. Every motion had a hidden meaning. It was clear that she was trying to tell him something, but couldn’t openly say so.

He looked at the girl who was attending to Katsumi. Suddenly the world seemed so much clearer than it was before. She was a spy direct under the command of the Yakuza. He had known that she was a spy, but knew not who she worked for.

“You’re a piss-poor spy you know that?”

The girl froze.

_An amateur mistake. You can lie, but your body just betrayed you._

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

_Another foolish mistake. Never lie to an accomplished liar._

“I’m pretty sure no one paints their nails with more than two coats, and you’re currently at the fifth coat.”

She stopped painting and turned to face Katsumi, her face defiant.

_Good, I like a challenge. Show me what you got Yakuza bitch._

“The Yakuza will not appreciate what you’ve told him, Suzuki-san.”

At first it was a gentle shake of her shoulders, and then she actually laughed. Katsumi held her mirth before responding.

“And what will you tell them,” she teased. “I didn’t say anything that could be construed as the Nine’s knowledge of the attack.”

She smiled at the girl in a prouder sort of way, confident in her superiority.

“What the Nine fail to understand is that Rei is an accomplished shinobi. A shinobi who specialises in information and secrets, some of which are very dangerous and could cause untold damage. His mind makes great leaps and arrives to conclusions faster than myself.”

Ishikawa snorted derisively at her words.

_Untold damage? You have no idea, and it’s gonna stay that way._

He straightened up and moved towards the window, opening it so he could exit.

“Don’t bother getting anything out of her. She’s clueless, and simply a distraction to keep me busy. A task that would more suited to a person with intelligence…”

He gave a smirk at the young spy, but it was hard to tell with his face mask.

“And bigger tits.”

He leapt out the window with a smile as he felt the hot glare of the girl.

* * *

 

 

Quickly appearing back in his office at ANBU headquarters, Ishikawa readied himself for a long term mission. His connections among the Nine were simply as a contact and on occasion a hired assassin. He knew very well that sneaking into the home of one of the Nine would be a clear show of betrayal. It was of paramount importance that he avoid leaving any evidence that he was behind the infiltration. If the Nine found out, it could very well lead to a cold war.

_They wouldn’t dare pull this stunt without someone’s backing. I doubt that it’s Iwa(Stone) or Kumo(Cloud)._

He gathered a variety of documents and sealed them within a single scroll.

_Onoki has a tendency to use mercenary bands for any task that can’t be directly linked to his village. And even in our current state he wouldn’t try to invade, simply because he can’t make up his mind. They call him ‘fence-sitter’ for reason._

Pulling out a blank sheet of paper, he began to write instructions for his secretary to follow.

_‘A’ would certainly love to invade us, except that his forces would have to go through a minimum of two countries, and a maximum of five. It would be impossible for him to hide his army from us. Nevertheless, the Nine weren’t backed by Kumo. Their far too military-based, civilians aren’t treated with the same respect as ninja. Their rank system won’t allow it._

He quickly signed the document, leaving it on the table for his secretary to find. After double-checking his supplies he created a Kage Bunshin(Shadow Clone). The clone watched as his creator simply faded away out of sight, much like his nickname.

* * *

 

 

Fugaku was furious. As the head of the Military Police Force and the Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, he was accustomed to receiving a certain amount of respect. The blatant and almost carefree tone of the messenger made the missive itself sound far more insulting than it was originally.

"How dare he give us orders as if he runs this place? Work overtime? Ha! As if we weren't already pushed to the absolute limit."

Fugaku took another report from one of his aides and glanced over the details.

"The Kyubi has left a pile of corpses as tall as the Hokage Mountain! Just look at this report. Every single person who was in direct contact with the Chakra cloud has died."

He sat in his chair and threw the report onto the table for all to see.

"Alright, listen up men!" he shouted. The entire office was immediately silent at his command.

"The entire village is looking up to us, to _our_ clan. So let's give our all to restore the village! Show them the strength of the Uchiha!"

A unified shout was the response before they returned to their duties with renewed vigour.

Pulling out a bottle of sake from a small compartment in his desk, Fugaku proceeded to pour himself a drink and in a single motion drank a full cup.

"That bastard's probably whoring himself out with the Mistress of the Pleasure District."

* * *

 

 

It had been three days since the event and the village was still in a state of shock. Fortunately the majority of the confusion was gone as Sarutobi had made several statements to the public in order to keep them informed of the current situation. Yakushi Hideo sat in his office in the hospital. The underground medical facility was able to function without him since he informed the medical staff of the cure. The hospital had suffered minor fire damage from the plague, but this didn’t bother the director as it could easily be repaired.

What did bother him were two newborn children that Sarutobi had brought in the night of the attack. He had assigned Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai to watch over and take care of them until he was free to actually visit them. Even now, there were still cases of patients that would require his personal intervention. It was in these moments that he wondered what to do.

Even though the plague was being effectively cure and treated, it still left a much traumatised populace due to its effects. The deaths of each plague victim they were unable to save were horrifying. The necrosis would spread until the victim died in unimaginable pain, or they would die from the blood loss resulting from the removal of too much flesh.

He made his way to the room where the two infants were and was greeted with the two young men he had assigned to watch over them. Both Kakashi and Gai gave a firm salute to the director and waited for any instructions.

“At ease both of you,” Hideo said, allowing them to relax. “How are the kids?”

He had checked on them the day before alongside Jiraiya and found a number of strange things to note down in his report.

“Nothing wrong so far,” Gai replied before looking to Kakashi.

“I’m not familiar with babies, but they’re annoying. These two certainly are,” Kakashi said.

Hideo looked at the two small infants and started to check them for any irregularities.

“So have they been fed or needed a change?”

Both teens nodded with a slight look of annoyance. Hideo chuckled at their faces.

“You shouldn’t look so hopeless. Sooner or later you’ll both be having little ones of your own. The practice now would come in handy.”

“Not a chance in hell,” Kakashi whispered to Gai, who was vigorously nodding in agreement.

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked into the room with a purpose, accompanied by Jiraiya. The hospital was working over time to heal and counsel those affected by the attack. He read the reports in the morning. Shinichi’s secretary had mobilised the ANBU perfectly for the village defence, Fugaku had managed to retrieve all the bodies in the districts in less than seventy two hours, and Danzō's Root had eliminated a variety of scout squads from other hidden villages before they could return with news of our weakened state.

He rubbed the bags underneath his eyes for what must have been the hundredth time. It had been a while since he slept.

_Come on, no time to rest yet._

He had been surviving on ration bars, NightWatch pills and Soldier pills.

"Sarutobi-sama," Hideo greeted with a bow, whilst Kakashi and Gai gave a salute to their commanding officer.

"At ease all of you. What's the condition of the two newborns?" Hiruzen asked.

Hideo picked up the medical report from a nearby table and began to explain his findings.

"The newborn children are in perfect health, I could find no ailment that could affect them in the future. Although there are some strange, uh, I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but suffice to say they are beyond normal."

Jiraiya took the silence after the doctors' dialogue to inform the aged ninja of his own findings.

"The seal is clearly visible on Naruto's skin when Chakra is applied. The seal is far more advanced than the original. Although I cannot find any seal markings on the other child, Alltariss. Hideo-sama's findings should provide a little insight as to why, but other than that, all we can do is speculate."

“Alltariss?” Hiruzen asked, confused.

“Ah right,” Jiraiya started. “We named the other kid that.”

He gave Jiraiya a look of suspicion. “I suppose you named such because he looks more like the Westerners.”

Jiraiya sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and nervously laughed. “Most of the time we just call him Alto.”

Hiruzen nodded, "We're holding a council meeting shortly. It would be best if you could both attend and go in further detail concerning the children."

With a salute the two men gathered their effects and prepared to accompany Hiruzen to the council meeting.

* * *

 

 

The mood of the council meeting was tense. All the members were exhausted after working day and night to restore the village.

Hiruzen cleared his throat and began to speak.

"As of seven days ago, we the village of Konohagakure was attacked by an unknown shinobi. This shinobi had, in some way summoned the Kyūbi."

Inuzuka Tsume, the Clan Head of the Inuzuka Clan immediately rose to her feet.

"How's that even possible? I've never heard of someone having the ability to summon a Bijū," she exclaimed.

The Sandaime nodded, confirming that he too was at a loss. Even with his vast knowledge, Hiruzen was unable to accurately say who the masked ninja was or could be. At best he only had a sneaking suspicion.

"Whoever that ninja was, he was never seen after Minato engaged in single combat against him. Unfortunately we never found a body, so it is entirely possible that he managed to escape. Nonetheless, we can at least breathe a little easier knowing that the Bijū was sealed in two infant children, and will never be summoned by that man again."

He motioned for the ANBU to bring a table and place the two children carefully on top. Both Naruto and Alto twisted and turned, their eyes gazing at everything in a sense of curiosity and wonder.

Hiruzen sat down in the Hokage's seat, suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He knew very well that the Bijū was only sealed within Naruto. The other child was found next to the bodies of Minato and Kushina.

_The child had no reason to be there. Kushina only had one child, the medics confirmed it. Even more strange is that the boy looks nothing like them. The facial structure didn’t match to any Nihon-jin._

Sarutobi closed his eyes and rubbed them gently.

_No, it’s better that we lie and say that the child was altered as a result from the sealing process._

"Sealed, you say? We all know that Minato was a skilled Fūinjutsu expert, but how secure is the seal? Can we safely say that it won't break or that the Bijū will not possess the children's bodies?" asked Yamanaka Inoichi, the Head of the Yamanaka Clan.

The Sandaime motioned for Jiraiya to come forward and present his judgments on the sealing.

"I examined both children as per Sarutobi-sensei's orders," he began. "The original sealing technique differs from what was used in terms of design and the way it was applied. The process of sealing the Bijū into living containers has happened enough times for me to understand how it should be properly done. Any Bijū whose number of tails is five or more needs to be very carefully sealed."

Jiraiya began to pace round the chamber, hands clasped behind his back. Sarutobi nearly chuckled at how much he seemed to mimic himself when he gave a lecture.

"If they are normally sealed, then the Chakra will eventually 'corrode' the body in which it is held. This usually results in the Jinchūriki(Power of Human Sacrifice) have shorter lifespans. The original seal that Minato was going to use is almost flawless. Instead of sealing the entire power of the Bijū, he would split it in half. By separating the Chakra into Yin and Yang, he could then seal only half the power into a host and the Jinchūriki would not only have better control, but a longer lifespan as well. Over time the missing half would slowly regenerate, which means that the host would have time to adjust and learn how to control the Bijū's power as it grows with him."

"A bold strategy," Shikaku remarked, Head of the Nara Clan. "The Jinchūriki may be weak in the beginning but would get stronger as he ages."

"Exactly, but that's not what happened when Minato actually performed the sealing. You see, Minato wasn't alone. Kushina was with him."

"I see, wasn't Uzumaki-san pregnant? How could she be of any assistance?" Shibi questioned, Head of the Aburame.

"Actually the children that were used to become a host, was the ones that she gave birth to on the night of the attack," Jiraiya replied.

"I see," Shibi murmured in deep thought. “I knew of Uzumaki-san’s pregnancy, but I know not who the father is. Do we know who or where the father is?”

"I'm afraid the children's father is unknown. Neither I, nor Hideo-sama knows who the father is. Minato and Kushina were pretty close to each other, so we did a DNA test to see if either was Minato's child, but it returned negative. 'No Match'."

“Then why does the boy look like Minato?” Shikaku questioned.

It was a credit to Jiraiya that he did not show any sign of deception. His years of being in the espionage sect of ninja had served him well.

“I believe the way Naruto looks like is a result of the sealing process,” Jiraiya began.

“How so?” Sarutobi asked, showing genuine interest.

He had known that Jiraiya was a skilled soldier, yet he never really knew how good he was at being covert and sly. He attributed it to the man’s perverted lifestyle, a life he had lived since youth.

“I’m not entirely sure and I don’t want to mess with the seal too much when it’s still fresh, but I think Minato sealed a part of himself within the child.”

Inoichi snapped his fingers and had a look of realisation. “Of course,” he exclaimed. “How else would he ensure the mental stability of the child, if not placing a part of himself inside the boy?”

"And what of the other child?" Shibi asked. “What reason does that child have for looking so different?”

Jiraiya’s face was a mixture of confusion and anger. “That’s the thing that bothers me the most.”

The council all observed the man with interest. Jiraiya was known to be a very easy-going and jovial person. To see him angered was a rare occurrence.

“I think that Kushina may have been in a relationship with a Westerner. It would explain why the child looks unlike any Nihon-jin.”

The entire chamber was filled with hushed whispers, each one trying to understand the implications of Jiraiya’s theory.

“That can’t be right,” Sarutobi countered, looking shocked.

“I’m afraid it is Sensei,” Jiraiya replied. “It would explain why Minato took care of her, even inviting her to move into his home during her pregnancy.”

“Jiraiya’s theory is sound,” Shikaku stated, gaining everyone’s attention. “Relationships between people of Nihon and the West are not looked down upon, but if you _do_ pursue a relationship then either person will have to choose which nation to belong to.”

“What do you mean?” Tsume asked looking confused. “I’m not aware of such a thing.”

“Either the Westerner or the Nihon-jin will need a change in citizenship,” Shikaku explained. “It’s an old agreement made between our two nations.”

“I see,” Shibi spoke, gently adjusting his dark shades. “Since Kushina and this Westerner took their relationship to an intimate level, they would have to decide who would change their citizenship.”

Jiraiya nodded and picked up where Shibi left. “Exactly, and I assume that neither one wanted to change their citizenship, so they went their separate ways. Everything would have been fine…”

“Except that Kushina fell pregnant,” Sarutobi finished. “Did she try to contact the Westerner?”

“I assume she did, but never received a reply,” Jiraiya answered. “Or worse, the man fled as soon as the news reached him.”

“Fucking coward,” Tsume growled.

“Nevertheless, that is the most likely scenario and the mission records corroborate with my theory.”

Jiraiya gazed at each member of the Ninja Council silently asking if anyone had more questions, but found that they were satisfied with the information given. Clearing his throat, Jiraiya prepared to continue on where he left off.

"Both Minato and Kushina were very skilled in Fūinjutsu. After examining the seals I have found that they created a seal that far outclasses anything I’ve ever seen before, _especially_ when it comes to Jinchūriki. Now forgive me but the next part is a little bit technical, but I'll try to explain it as simple as I can."

Jiraiya stood in the centre of the council chamber next to the children and pointed to a projector screen above the entrance. Hideo clicked a button and the projector beside him flickered on bringing a photograph of Naruto on display. The picture focused on the seal located on the child’s abdomen.

“After Minato became an Expert Sealist, I took it upon myself to teach him a variety of specialties that would later define what type of Sealist he would be.”

At that moment Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan raised his hand. “What exactly do you mean by specialities?”

Jiraiya acknowledge his question, but his face showed indecision. “It’s hard to explain or put it into terms for you and council to understand.”

“Why,” Fugaku pressed. “We’re all Jōnin here. There’s no need to dumb any of it down.”

The last thing he or anyone expected was for Jiraiya to burst out laughing. He continued to laugh for half a minute before regaining enough control over his senses to answer.

“I don’t mean to be insulting, but with the exception of Sarutobi-sensei you and everyone else in this room are no better than an _academy student_ when it comes to Fūinjutsu.”

“That’s impossible we know way more about Fūinjutsu than any academy student,” Inoichi exclaimed.

“Not true, all you did was _memorise_ _pictures_ and what they do. Any student at the academy can do that. You simply know more pictures than they do.”

The old sage shook his head in disbelief at the looks the council were giving him.

“Not one of you knows anything about the actual parts that make a seal. I doubt any of you even know how to open any of the seals you know about. You just use them like shuriken, just something to use and throw away, but not really understand.”

Sarutobi scratched his beard in thought and soon a thought emerged from the depths of his mind.

“You said that Minato was an _Expert_ Sealist, but what does that mean. Is there some type of grading system among Sealists?”

Jiraiya turned to his teacher and nodded. “All Sealists are graded using a very detailed system. There are seven ranks and within the two highest ranks are a variety of sub ranks.”

He leaned against the table and folded his arms. “I am at the highest rank which is Master Sealist, but explaining the grading system isn’t important right now.”

He cleared his throat. “Back to the topic at hand,” he began. “When I graded Minato as an Expert Sealist I then introduced him to several different branches of Fūinjutsu. In the end he decided he wanted to specialise in seals that dealt with space and time.”

Jiraiya chuckled as if laughing at some inside joke only he was privy to.

_The only reason he wanted to learn more about it was because he wanted to spend less time moving from one place to another and more time with Kushina._

“I expected as much considering that he learnt the Nidaime’s Space-Time Ninjutsu. So I gave him my notes on the topic and tutored him on the higher level theory. Unfortunately this tragedy occurred before he could reach the next Sealist rank. Nevertheless, know that he was highly skilled in all areas of Fūinjutsu.”

He pointed to the projector screen and once again talked about the seal on Naruto.

"Now this is the seal that's on Naruto's body. The Shishō Fūin was to be applied twice then bonded together with the Hakke no Fūin Shiki, but that didn’t happen. A single application of the Shishō Fūin creates four pathways for the Kyūbi's Chakra to flow through. Minato applied the first two seals then Kushina applied the same two seals again. At that point Naruto had _sixteen_ pathways for the Kyūbi's Chakra to flow into his Keirakukei."

He moved to the projector and replaced the picture of Naruto with a blank plastic sheet. With a black marker he soon began to draw diagrams for everyone to see.

"The twin-layered Hakke(Eight Trigrams) Overseal was designed to do a lot of things. At first I assumed that its purpose was to purify the Kyūbi’s Chakra so that Naruto can then use it, but that was incorrect. The Overseal was never meant to purify, but rather blend Naruto’s and the Kyūbi’s Chakras.”

Jiraiya drew a circle within a circle.

“The innermost circle represents the Kyūbi,” he said, writing the circle with the Kanji for ‘fox’. “The outermost circle is Naruto,” he continued, writing the Kanji for Naruto’s name.

He then drew sixteen equidistant lines from the inner ring till halfway to the outer ring, before sketching small circles at the end of each line. He then connected the small circles to each other in pairs, before drawing another four small circles in between the pairs and the outer ring. He drew a line from two pairs to one of the four newer circles and then finally connected them to the outer ring.

“Imagine that the lines are like pipes that carry Chakra instead of water. The sixteen lines that extend from the Kyūbi are from the four Shishō Fūin seals that were first applied. The pairs of circles are where they connect to the Hakke Overseal. The sixteen individual lines form pairs, creating eight lines. Then those eight lines divide into pairs again to make four lines, and then they connect to Naruto.”

He capped the marker and observed the council. To his relief none of them looked lost or confused.

“The sixteen pathways from the Kyūbi send its unfiltered Chakra towards Naruto. The first layer of the Overseal blends the Bijū’s Chakra and Naruto’s, and then proceeds to the second layer where the blended Chakras are further mixed before finally entering Naruto’s Keirakukei.”

Jiraiya walked towards the two infants at the centre of the chamber and gazed at Naruto for a moment.

"Now most Jinchūriki have large Chakra Reserves. This is because the Bijū are sealed into them at a young age most of the time, due to the fact that their Keirakukei is still flexible and has room to grow. Naruto is a unique case. His Keirakukei will be forced to expand at a very rapid rate because the seal is perfectly balanced. In the end I predict that Naruto’s Chakra Reserves will exceed the level that is typically found in Jōnin before the age of ten.”

Many of the council members whispered among themselves at this new revelation.

"And finally we have the Shiki Fūjin. The technique is extremely arcane in nature. This is because the user summons the Shinigami, and to complicate matters both of them gave their lives for it.”

“Is that even possible?” Hyūga Hiashi asked, the head of the Hyūga clan. “Actually summoning a deity?”

“Yes,” Sarutobi answered him before Jiraiya could. “Only those who sign a contract with the Shinigami will be able to see him. And invoking the technique results in the user’s death, in which their soul will be eaten and reside in the belly of the Shinigami for eternity.”

He motioned for his student to continue with his explanation.

“The seal that binds the Bijū within Naruto is strong, but it relies on the will of the container to hold the influence of the creature at bay. The issue of Naruto’s mental stability is taken care of by the part of Minato that resides within him and the final Overseal that the Shinigami placed on top of the seal that was already there. The Shinigami’s seal will degrade over time, but will provide additional protection to keep the Kyūbi from corrupting Naruto.”

"What exactly did you mean when you said both of them gave their lives to the Shinigami?" Fugaku interjected. “How does that change the nature of the seal?”

"It means that Minato never split the Kyūbi in half, but sealed the entire Bijū into Naruto. With the seal that the child has, the Bijū's Chakra won't have a corrosive effect as bad as it would have been if the original seal was used. I might even say that the child will live well into his fifties before he succumbs to the corrosion."

Jiraiya bowed to the council and moved to stand near his teacher. The Sandaime raised his hand and silenced the chamber.

"Before any decisions are made we should all listen to Yakushi-san's findings," he suggested.

Hideo stood next to the projector and began to report his discoveries as he opened a folder with a variety of photos.

"Approximately three days ago Sarutobi-sama had brought in two newborn children to the hospital. He requested a private room and placed a full ANBU squad to guard them. He had informed me of their status as Jinchūriki and as such I made sure that proper measures were taken by assigning Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai to care for them. I examined both children and found that they were perfectly healthy. Size, weight, response to stimuli, everything was as it should be. After that, was when I noticed they both had abilities beyond the norm."

Looking down at the children he collected his thoughts for a few moments. Both Naruto and Alto twisted and turned, their eyes gazing at everything in a sense of curiosity and wonder.

"I’m certain you all recall that during the attack the Kyūbi released a cloud of Chakra over the village. After extensive research and multiple autopsies, I believe I know what it is and how to counter it. I termed this special Chakra that the Bijū created as ' _The Corruption_ '. The Chakra has many effects which depend on what it comes into contact with.”

He placed the first photo on the projector to be displayed on screen. It revealed the walls of a house with minor fire damage, but upon closer inspection one could see smears of a blood coloured substance as well.

“If it touches any inanimate object, the Chakra will in most cases simply combust, but sometimes it reverts into a gelatinous form that clings to any surface. If this substance comes into contact with any _living_ object it then induces a variety of conditions. All of which are severe and result in _very_ painful deaths if it is not immediately countered or treated."

Hideo gave a stern look at each member of the council.

"If any of you have weak stomachs, then I suggest you grab a bucket. What I'm about to show you is not pretty."

The next picture was a series of diagrams picturing a group of cells under the heading ‘Necrosis’.

"Necrosis is when cells prematurely or are forced to die, and because of the way the cells die the immune system doesn't respond to it very well. Therefore the Necrosis will spread until the patient expires. Conventional medicine such as antibiotics and herbal remedies are useless. At best they will slow the process down. The only way to deal with it is to surgically remove the dead flesh. Doing so will then change the condition from Necrosis to an open wound. After that we can then treat the patient as we normally would, with Chakra Therapy."

He swapped the current slide with the next one. The image revealed the gruesome condition of what appeared to be someone’s leg.

“The Corruption is very complex. When it encounters any living tissue it induces Necrosis. This shows a leg that was exposed to the Corruption. As you can see the black area is the flesh that died. In this situation the entire leg was infected. If this was a normal case of necrosis then it would be standard procedure to amputate the leg. Yet the necrosis induced by the Corruption is far from normal. Even with Chakra Therapy the necrosis continued until the patient died.”

He paused. The look of failure and guilt could clearly be seen.

“This leg belonged to an eleven year old boy.”

Many of the council members shivered. It wasn't the first time they had heard or seen the condition, but it was always dealt with swiftly and at best resulted in temporary relief from the field. To see such a progressed form of it and knowing that it was a child made them feel terrified.

"Necrosis is a tricky thing. It can spread very quickly if you let it. The Corruption that this child was exposed to was quite high and we weren't able to stop its advance. We had to amputate his leg, but the Corruption continued until he died."

The next picture Hideo showed revealed a man that seemed to have most of his skin peeled off.

"This man was unfortunate to have been hit with the Corruption that must have had full contact with his entire body. His skin started to peel away layer after layer making him extremely sensitive and vulnerable to infection from fungi and bacteria. His body swelled and in places like his eyes and mouth were so badly swollen we had to exorcise the flesh immediately to prevent his tongue from choking him or his eyes from exploding. We tried our best but he died before we could begin the Chakra Therapy."

The next photo appeared similar, but the woman's body was severely discoloured with pink to red bloody sections of skin and yellow to brown almost pus-like patches.

"This woman was in her fourth month of pregnancy and we were unable to save her. I'm not sure how, but the Corruption made her contract Necrotizing Fasciitis. Or as most of you would know as the Flesh-eating bacteria syndrome."

The members of the council reeled back in shock. They had seen enough of the disease during the Second and Third Shinobi World War. Many of the poisons used against Konoha's troops resulted in contracting the syndrome.

"I thought we'd seen the last of this. If it weren't for Tsunade, we would have lost a lot of men on the battlefields," Hiruzen commented. Many shook their heads in agreement.

"She died before we could even complete our examination. Most of the information was gleaned from the autopsy. I'm surprised she didn't die sooner considering that the Corruption had _liquidised_ the child within her womb."

Tsume wanted to grab a bucket and puke. Many others felt the same, even to imagine such a thing was too much to bear.

Hideo placed one final picture to display. The patient was a man that appeared to be suffering from Gangrene.

"As you can see the patient has suffered from Necrosis long enough for it to progress to gangrene. His hands and toes are far gone with the 'dry' gangrene, shown by the 'mummified' parts of his body. The brown-yellow patches are the 'wet' gangrene where his blood vessels provide enough moisture for bacteria to grow and spread. Both of these conditions only affect the limbs. The rest of his body has Gas gangrene. From the moment we finished examining him, we knew it was far too late to do anything. The amount of flesh we would need to exorcise would be too much. We unanimously decided to euthanize the patient as painlessly as possible."

Hideo collected the photographs and placed a plastic sheet to draw on. The chamber was silent, not a single person spoke.

"If we didn't rush most of the villagers to the shelters, we would have suffered far more losses. The Corruption has a side-effect on any living thing with higher cognitive functions. It sends them into a frenzy, makes them act in brutal and violent ways. Jiraiya-sama can give his first hand report of his experience with the Corruption."

Jiraiya cleared his throat and continued from where Hideo had left.

"When the Kyūbi unleashed the cloud over Konoha I immediately made my way over as soon as I was able to. A small thread of it had touched my arm; it immediately felt as if my arm was set on fire. The next moment my mind was filled with the desire to do all sorts of terrible things. As long as I killed something it wouldn't matter."

“Wait,” Shukaku called out. “If you were hit with the Corruption then how come you never needed to be hospitalised like the others?”

“I can explain that,” Hideo stated. “The Corruption is nothing more than Chakra. It maintains a semi solid form because it is in very high quantity and quality.”

He looked towards Hiashi and bowed. “I must thank you Hiashi-sama, because if it weren’t for a pair of your clansmen then I would never have found a cure.”

“Really?!” Hiashi exclaimed.

“A pair of your clansmen came to me as one of them was in the early stages of the plague. I examined him and confirmed that he was indeed infected. I asked the clansman that brought his sick friend to tell me what was happening within his body using the Byakugan. He told of the Corruption within the patient’s Keirakukei, and that the patient’s Chakra Reserves were depleting themselves to wipe out the foreign presence. It was only when the Corruption left the Chakra Veins and dispersed itself into the flesh that the necrosis started to set in. At that point I realised that the necrosis was not the primary cause of death, but instead the Corruption’s takeover of the Keirakukei.”

Hideo drew multiple pictures of cups, split into two columns. Each column had ten cups and in one column he circled the cups making five pairs. He then drew a line from each pair to one cup on the other column, leaving five cups untouched.

“The Corruption is Chakra-based and so it is actually very easy to counter. Imagine if Chakra can be measured like water. If one cup of the Corruption is poured on you, it will take two cups of your Chakra to cancel it out. This is why so many succumbed to the plague, because they ran out of Chakra to flush the Corruption out of their system.”

He turned off the projector and moved to stand near Jiraiya.

"That's why the number of ninja killed by the Corruption was much lower than the civilians. They never had the Chakra Reserves to resist it. The Corruption had first overridden their minds which caused them to be excessively violent until their Chakra gives out. The next stage is the various forms of Necrosis that I presented."

Hiruzen stood up and addressed the Council.

"The Council will have a fifteen minute recess before resuming. I think we could all use the time to collect our thoughts."

The Council chambers emptied out save for four people. Danzō stood up and walked towards the two children.

"I wonder if it is truly wise to not inform the village of Naruto's heritage. It may alleviate the pain of being a Jinchūriki," he asked.

Jiraiya wiggled his fingers above both the children eliciting giggles of laughter from both of the boys.

"If Naruto's heritage is leaked out to Iwa, he'll be killed within the week. And to make it worse he's a host, they may even kidnap him and turn him into a weapon to use against us."

“I can’t believe we actually pulled off the scheme,” Sarutobi said as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. “The only part that confuses me is that you mentioned that Kushina’s mission records actually support your theory.”

A section of the wall quivered and Shinichi’s clone appeared. Hideo was the only one to jump in surprise.

  _I hate it when he does that._

“It was something that I was able to find when I ensure that there would be no contradictory evidence to counter Jiraiya’s claim.”

Jiraiya saluted Ishikawa before speaking.

“According to the records Kushina was hired to protect an art gallery in Tōkyō for a month. And as you all know the embassies of the foreign nations are all located in Tōkyō. The records show that she found no conflict during the mission, so she was essentially on a paid vacation.”

Danzō tapped his cane on the floor to gather their attention.

“The only people who know about Minato’s relationship with Kushina are in this room. So there isn’t a great need to worry right now.”

“That’s what worries me,” Sarutobi sighed. “If we all die before the boys are ready to stand on their own, then the truth will never be known.”

“Not true,” Ishikawa countered. “If you look at Minato’s mission record you will find that our Daimyō hired him to deliver a message to the Shogun and the Emperor. And they both reside in Tōkyō. Minato was in Tōkyō along with Kushina for at least a week. We can assume that that was probably the time when Naruto was conceived.”

“It’s certainly plausible and it matches the medical records, but it’s still not solid.” Hideo stated.

“I know,” the Kageken replied. “That’s why Danzō, Jiraiya, and I wrote the truth of it all and included our clever deception as well into a scroll. It has our three signatures, but we would need both yours and Sarutobi’s to make it ironclad.”

The Sandaime nodded. “Consider it done.”

Hiruzen rubbed his eyes again.

_This is going to be one hell of a mess._

"I'm certain that I’m going to hell for what we're being forced to do."

The three other occupants looked at the Sandaime with varying looks of sympathy.

"What we do tonight will haunt us every time we see these children get abused. To make matters worse, we'll be forced to turn a ' _blind eye_ ' to it all. If the people hate them, we can play it off saying that they were simply born at the right time for the sealing. No one will suspect anything, but if we, the higher ups show an unusual interest in their wellbeing. Well, it may tip off any spies that there is more to them than meets the eye. We simply have to treat them as weapons until they are old enough to be recruited and are well within _our_ military jurisdiction."

Jiraiya saluted Shinichi before speaking.

"Perhaps it is best that all documents regarding these children be kept under lock and key. _Code Black Security_. The only people with clearance will be the five of us. It will solidify the false reason that their parents were traitors. I will then leave the village and meet with my contacts; I'll spread information that we have Jinchūriki and that even as newborns they are capable of wiping out scores of people. It’s really pushing the limits of bullshit, but it is the best I can do."

Shinichi nodded before giving his own input about the situation.

"It's the best we can do for now. The children will have to be placed in one of the orphanages, preferably one closest to the Pleasure District. The area is less prone to spies, no high class people go there unless it's to the House of Pleasures. And even then they come by palanquin to avoid the sight of the slums."

"Agreed," Hiruzen said. He motioned for them to return to their places and prepare for the next half of the meeting.

The council members returned from their recess looking calmer after the events of the first half.

"The council is now back in session. I believe that Yakushi-sama has some more information on the children," Hiruzen began, giving Hideo the chance to speak again.

"Both children display abilities that are beyond normal human standards. When I drew some blood for testing, I noticed that the puncture marks had healed instantly. There was no scarring at all to even show they were pricked with a needle."

Jiraiya interrupted before the hospital director could continue.

“I had mentioned before that Minato had sealed the entire Bijū into Naruto, but that is a half-truth. The reality is that all of the beast’s Chakra resides in Naruto, but the mind, _the consciousness_ , has been sealed in the other child, Alto.”

The entire chamber burst into whispers. The history of demon-vessels was documented poorly, but there was enough information to know that splitting the beast from its power was never done before.

“Does that mean the child is simply the Kyūbi in human form?” Fugaku asked.

“No!” Hideo shouted. “Absolutely not!”

“Naruto's Keirakukei is already undergoing expansion as Jiraiya predicted. When I examined Alto, something _disturbing_ was discovered. The boy has _no Keirakukei, no Chakra_.”

"That's impossible! Everything has Chakra even animals and plants," Hiashi exclaimed. Activating his Byakugan he focused all his attention on Alto.

Hideo continued on with his report taking into account Hiashi's outburst.

"As I'm sure you've found out, the boy has no Keirakukei. I asked a Hyūga to look at him and he could not find any pathways for Chakra to travel. I then hypothesised that perhaps all of his Chakra was flowing into and saturating his body. If all the Chakra the body generates was to constantly flow into your blood, flesh, and bones, then it would explain why he heals just as fast as Naruto. So I asked for an Uchiha to examine him. While their eyes cannot see Chakra as detailed as the Byakugan, they can see the colours and general flow, but even they said that they could see not any Chakra."

Both Fugaku and Hiashi looked horrified at the idea that there existed such a child whose body held no Chakra at all.

"Alto, according to all our research about Chakra, shouldn't even be alive let alone exist. He's nothing short of a living miracle. I may not know how this is possible, but there is no doubt in my mind that both of the children are connected in some way. Jiraiya examined Alto for any seal markings and found none, not anywhere on his body. It is my firmest recommendation that if they are placed in an orphanage or are adopted, that they are to be together."

The next few minutes of the council meeting was spent deliberating over what would be the best course of action to take. A few more minutes went by before Hiruzen stood and called for silence.

"I believe the council will agree with me when I suggest that they be placed in an orphanage. I doubt that any of us have neither time nor resources to not only raise and care for them, but keep a strict watch on their behaviour at all times. As an added precaution, I hereby decree that no person of their generation is to be told the truth of their status. Failure to obey will be seen as an act of _treason_ and any law breakers will be punished as such."

For a new law to be passed during times of relative peace, it is required that the law be passed by majority vote. The Kyūbi attack was still fresh in the minds of the people, and as such the village was under a state of Martial Law. When under Martial Law the Hokage has the power to create and enforce laws without the need of the voting process. The council members agreed with Hiruzen's judgment and each of them signed their names onto a scroll to show their agreement and to keep an official record of the law.

Hideo then carried the two children back to the hospital until the papers for their release into the custody of an orphanage was finalised. Hiruzen then proceeded to address other matters of importance.

"This attack has left us weakened. We need to spend quite a bit of money to restore the village to the way it once was. I will request the Daimyo for a temporary increase in our budget for a while, but even so the attack has no doubt turned away many from travelling here. As such we will have to provide some sort of incentive. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

"I have an idea," said Homura. "We could create a Civilian Council in which the members have _some_ authoritative powers. Their powers will obviously revolve around civilian concerns such as tourism and trade. As an added bonus they will have a voice in the Shinobi Council. While they may discuss matters of military nature alongside us, it is ultimately _our_ decision. _We_ still have the final say."

Hiruzen nodded and looked to the other members for any objections. There were none.

"I see that no one objects to the idea. Homura, Koharu, I leave the implementation of the Civilian Council to the both of you. Use whatever resources you feel are necessary to get it running as fast as possible. I don't wish to be a burden on our Daimyo."

The rest of the meeting was spent with each member give their general report concerning their respective clans and assigning missions.

* * *

 

 

For the first time since the attack Hiruzen stepped through the doors of his home.

_Biwako would have been having dinner with me now._

Walking towards the kitchen he saw that on the dining table was his favourite food. Hijiki and sardine fish balls. They were cover with a plastic sheet and had a small note attached to it.

_I know that you've been working hard teaching Minato what it takes to be a good leader, so I made your favourite dishes._

_Love, Biwako_.

The food was already spoiled after being untouched for a week. Hiruzen cursed himself; tears ran down across his face even though he told himself he wouldn't cry.

Dragging himself to the bedroom, he laid down without bothering to change his clothes. Tonight would be to first of many lonely, sleepless nights.

* * *

 

 

Jiraiya packed his travelling supplies within a scroll.

_Minato would kill me if he knew what we have done, but I promise to do whatever it takes to make sure he survives._

He shook his head, clearing out all thought of regrets.

"Yosh! I still have a book to be written and plenty of beautiful women to immortalise in the pages of literature."

Passing through the red gates of Konoha, Jiraiya walked forward with renewed strength and resolution.

* * *

 

 

Shimura Danzō calmly drank the tea that was prepared by his servants. Shinichi’s clone sat across from him, calmly reading the scroll that lay before him.

"If this is true then Orochimaru is far more dangerous than we originally thought," Shinichi commented.

Danzō gave a long sigh before replying. "His experiments, which most ended in failure, are still dangerous. It appears that he has achieved a way of extending his life and has perfected his Cursed Seal."

Shinichi clenched his fists.

_Damn that bastard! Even now he still causes problems for us, and to hear that he's part of a terrorist group hell bent on capturing the Bijū._

"Keep in contact with him. At best it will let us keep an eye on his movements. Make deals if you must to solidify the false animosity between Sarutobi and yourself. I'm sure you can come up with a believable lie to convince him."

Danzō nodded and signalled his Root guard to make the proper arrangements.

"It appears we are no longer beneath the sun's light."

"Then we shall fight in the shade," Shinichi whispered, fading away into darkness.

* * *

 

 

Kali, Loki, Apep, and Hades left Lucifer’s house to return to their respective homes. The Devil returned to his library and collapsed into his chair exhausted.

“Did we do the right thing?” he asked.

“They can’t know the _real_ details,” Cronus answered. “Do you really expect me to tell Hades that I’m not really his father, that I’m just using his body as a vessel?”

“No, I suppose not.” Lucifer sighed. “Now about the world I just sent Alto to…”

“I created it.” Cronus replied.

“Just like that?” Lucifer questioned, giving him a sceptical look. “You didn’t happen to base it on something? Every god bases the worlds they create on something. Most of the time it’s based around some simple concept.”

The titan remained silent and preferred to look anywhere except at the Devil.

“I know you spent a lot of time collecting all sorts of things from the True-Verse.”

Cronus relented with slack shoulders and gave in to his friend’s interrogation.

“I’ve been reading a lot of manga lately and I thought I would create a world based on one.”

Lucifer blinked, and blinked again.

“Are you telling me that you built an entire world based on some manga a person made in the True-Verse?”

Cronus nodded. “We can’t let Chaos mess around with worlds that the other gods built, because their worlds are built for worship. If he destroys those worlds it would weaken the gods substantially.”

He walked towards the seat closest to the fireplace and sat down.

“So what is this manga that you built this world based on?”

He snapped his fingers and summoned a small book. He tossed to Lucifer and leaned back into his chair.

“Naruto, a world of ninjas and Chakra?”” Lucifer pondered. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

He closed his eyes and focused his mind to scour the True-verse for all details about the manga, utilising the power held within the Words. The information was slightly disturbing to him.

The Devil gave a look of disbelief. “You have _way_ too much time on your hands if this is what you read from the True-Verse. Please tell me that this world based on the manga isn’t exactly like the book.”

Cronus looked affronted. “I’ll have you know that the manga is quite cool. You’d be surprised by what the humans can come up with. They no longer believe in god like they used too, but their imagination is top-notch. It’s perfect for people like us because _we_ actually have the power to bring these worlds to life.”

Lucifer was less than pleased. “A world in which a traitor is never held accountable for his crimes? Where he is simply forgiven because he said sorry? A world where people can really be _that_ stupid? Or clueless? It’s a tale meant for kids, where everything is black and white. It’s a fucking mess!”

“Relax,” Cronus pleaded, raising his hands in surrender. “I didn’t create the world _exactly_ as it’s depicted in the book. I altered it to make it far more real. After all we’re dealing with _real souls_ , who need a world in which there is no black or white, but an infinite shade of grey.”

Lucifer took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking.

“You better hope this works or we’re in _deep shit_. I won’t let my champion turn into an idiot incapable of killing someone, because it’s not _family friendly_. And did you even consider that Alto will bond with these characters?”

Cronus scratched his head. “I’m not sure what you mean?”

Lucifer wanted to bang his head against the wall.

“Alto will learn to care for these people, even love them. At some point he may bond with them, binding their destiny together.”

“I fail to see what’s exactly bad with that,” the titan replied, still confused.

“Let’s assume he bonds with this Naruto kid,” Lucifer started. “Eventually we would reveal ourselves to Alto and Naruto and enlist their help against Chaos. By allowing them to know that they are agents of gods, they can perform their duties for us much better. _But_ …”

He raised a hand to his forehead to stem the impending headache.

“How do you explain to Naruto that he’s actually a character from some manga a guy wrote? That his existence not natural, that him and his entire Verse is a fabrication. A result of a god who had far too much time on his hands. That unlike everyone else, he was _never real to begin with_.”

Cronus blinked a few times with wide eyes, before his jaw dropped in shock.

“Shit…”

* * *

 

 

AN: Note – Alltariss – Another chapter done and unfortunately with Uni starting up again I may take longer to post up chapters, but hopefully not too long. For those who have read the previous version of this fic, I would love to know your opinion on this new version.

Write a review or send me a PM, I don’t mind either one.

 

**Glossary – For Japanese words/terms/names used in this fanfic in no particular order.**

 

**Doton** – Earth Release

**Keirakukei** – Meridian System (Most fics usually refer to it as Chakra system/vessels/pathways)

**Byakugan** – White Eye

**Tenketsu** – Pressure Points

**Saru** – Monkey

**Taka** – Hawk

**Rei** – Ghost

**Iwa** – Stone

**Kumo** – Cloud(although it can also be interpreted as spider)

**Bunshin** – Clone

**Jinchūriki** – Power of Human Sacrifice

**Hakke** – Eight Trigrams


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